Nanoplastic uptake temporarily affects the pulsing behavior in ephyrae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp.

Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Roberta Miroglio, Michela Di Giannantonio, Silvia Lavorano, Roberta Minetti, Francesca Sbrana, Veronica Piazza, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa

Ecotoxicology (London, England) 2023 Jul

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The aim of this study is to investigate for the first time the uptake and ecotoxicological effects of nanoplastics (NPs) in a marine cnidarian. Ephyrae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. of different ages (0 and 7 days old) were exposed to negatively charged polystyrene NPs for 24 h; then, the uptake was assessed through traditional and novel techniques, namely microscopy and three-dimensional (3D) holotomography. Immobility and behavioral responses (frequency of pulsations) of ephyrae were also investigated to clarify if NP toxicity differed along the first life stages. NP uptake was observed in ephyrae thanks to the 3D technique. Such internalization did not affect survival, but it temporarily impaired the pulsation mode only in 0 day old ephyrae. This may be ascribed to the negative charged NPs, contributing to jellyfish behavioral alteration. These findings promote 3D holotomography as a suitable tool to detect NPs in marine organisms. Moreover, this study recommends the use of cnidarians of different ages to better assess NP ecotoxicological effects in these organisms, key components of the marine food web. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Roberta Miroglio, Michela Di Giannantonio, Silvia Lavorano, Roberta Minetti, Francesca Sbrana, Veronica Piazza, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa. Nanoplastic uptake temporarily affects the pulsing behavior in ephyrae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. Ecotoxicology (London, England). 2023 Jul;32(5):618-627