Ecotoxicology of Aquatic Plastic Debris

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 3906

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Ocean Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
Interests: microbe–particle interactions; environmental microbiology; biofilm and plastisphere; marine environment; marine pollution
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Interests: ecology and conservation of horseshoe crabs; microplastic pollution, ecology and ecotoxicology of marine invertebrates

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The phenomenal amount of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems worldwide is a globally recognized environmental problem. Plastic debris entering the aquatic environment are colonized by microorganisms known as the “Plastisphere” community, promoting new interface and interactions between plastics and various environmental pollutants. These plastic debris can be potent vectors for harmful pollutants and biota and present joint toxicity when ingested by aquatic species. Their further transfer along the food web can accelerate the wide array of impacts. Ecotoxicology of aquatic plastic debris is an important area to be studied, linking anthropogenic input to environmental consequences for aquatic ecosystems, which is of great ecological and economic significance.

In this Special Issue, we encourage the submission of papers related to the ecotoxicology of aquatic plastic debris, including but not limited to microbial colonization and formation of plastisphere, microbial degradation and surface interactions, vector properties and effects, ingestion and depuration of plastic debris, source tracking and monitoring, and so on. Both research articles and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Jinping Cheng
Dr. Siu Gin Cheung
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Plastic debris
  • Plastisphere community
  • Aquatic toxicology
  • Ingestion and depuration
  • Vector and joint toxicity
  • Plastic degradation
  • Pollution source tracking
  • Pollution monitoring
  • Gut microbiome

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

9 pages, 787 KiB  
Article
Genotoxic Properties of Polystyrene (PS) Microspheres in the Filter-Feeder Mollusk Mytilus trossulus (Gould, 1850)
by Victor Pavlovich Chelomin, Andrey Alexandrovich Mazur, Valentina Vladimirovna Slobodskova, Sergey Petrovich Kukla and Nadezda Vladimirovna Dovzhenko
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(2), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10020273 - 16 Feb 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2950
Abstract
Microplastic pollution of the aquatic environment is one of the most serious environmental problems today. The potential environmental risks of such particles have become growing concerns in recent years, as direct or indirect exposure to these particles leads to adverse effects on marine [...] Read more.
Microplastic pollution of the aquatic environment is one of the most serious environmental problems today. The potential environmental risks of such particles have become growing concerns in recent years, as direct or indirect exposure to these particles leads to adverse effects on marine organisms. In this study, we investigated the potential risk of polystyrene (PS) microspheres on the genome integrity of cells of different tissues (gills and digestive gland) of the filter-feeder mollusk Mytilus trossulus, using a comet assay. With the help of the comet assay, we estimated the level of genome destruction in the cells of two different mussel tissues after short-term exposure to polystyrene. It was discovered that, despite their chemical inertness, PS microspheres that are 0.9 µm in diameter, at a concentration of 106 particles/L, exhibit genotoxic properties, which are expressed as a two-fold increase in the level of cell DNA damage of the mussel’s digestive gland. It is noted that, after exposure to PS, about half of the mussel’s digestive gland cells experienced damage in 25–35% of their DNA. In addition, the proportion of cells with significant DNA damage (50%) was about 5%. Given the unique role of the genome, DNA damage in these cells may be the earliest stage in the development of biochemical events that lead to toxic effects. These findings provide a basis for studying specific biomarkers of microplastic contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology of Aquatic Plastic Debris)
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