Cited by 67Microplastics and Plastic PollutionAquaculture Nutrition and GrowthEnvironmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Comprehensive understanding the impacts of dietary exposure to polyethylene microplastics on genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): tracking from growth, microbiota, metabolism to gene expressions

Lu, Xing, Zhang, Jie-Xin, Zhang, Lang, Wu, Di, Tian, Juan, Yu, Li-Juan, He, Li, Zhong, Shan +5 more·2022·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has been recognized as a threat to sustainable fisheries due to the risks of MPs contamination in the process of feed production and susceptibility of fish to ingest MPs from the aquatic environment. In this study, we applied comprehensive approaches to investigate the impacts of polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) on juvenile genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus) through 9-week dietary exposure based on growth performance, gut microbiota, liver metabolism, and gene expressions in brain and liver tissues. Dietary exposure to two kinds of PE-MPs with different median size (27 μm and 63 μm, respectively) concentration-dependently decreased weight gain (WG), while increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) of the tilapia. Dietary administration of PE-MPs also significantly reduced the activities of intestinal protease and amylase. PE-MPs particles of the larger size groups (63 μm) were mainly detected in feces, but those of the smaller ones (27 μm) tended to be accumulated in intestine. PE-MPs ingestion resulted in the alteration of gut microbiota composition, with Fusobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Firmicutes as the overrepresented bacterial taxa. Metabolomic assays of liver samples in fish fed the diets containing 8 % of PE-MPs revealed the particle size-specific variations in composition of differential metabolites and metabolism pathways such as amino acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Gene expressions of brain and liver samples were analyzed by RNA-seq. Photoperiodism and circadian rhythm were the representative biological processes enriched for the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified from the brain. Citrate cycle (TCA cycle) was the most enriched pathway revealed by a joint transcriptomic and metabolic pathway analysis for the liver, followed by propanoate and pyruvate metabolism. Furthermore, an integration analysis of the gut microbiome and liver transcriptome data identified significant associations between several pathogenic bacteria taxa and immune pathways. Our findings demonstrated that the sizes and concentrations of PE-MPs are critically related to their toxic impacts on microbiota community, metabolism, gene expressions and thus fish growth.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156571

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Authors
Lu, X., Zhang, J.-X., Zhang, L., Wu, D., Tian, J., Yu, L.-J., He, L., Zhong, S., Du, H., Deng, D.-F., Ding, Y.-Z., Wen, H., & Jiang, M.
Affiliations
  • Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (CN)
  • Wuhan University (CN)
  • University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
Corresponding author
  • Wen, Hua
  • Jiang, Ming
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-10
Volume
841
Pages
156571
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4281633384
Cited by
65
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 1
FWCI
2.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (31872554, 32172952)
  • Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (2020JBF01, 2020JBF09, 2020TD74, YFI202213)
  • Agriculture Research System of China (CARS-46, CARS-48)
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0900400)
  • Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
Keywords
polyethylene microplastics, dietary microplastic exposure, genetically improved farmed tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, fish growth, gut microbiota, hepatic metabolism, particle size effects, photoperiodism, circadian rhythm, TCA cycle, propanoate metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, immune pathways
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Dietary Exposure, Microplastics, Animals, Plastics, Gene Expression, Tilapia, Polyethylene, Cichlids

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