Accumulation of polyethylene microplastics in river biofilms and effect on the uptake, biotransformation and toxicity of the antimicrobial triclosan
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2024-01-23T10:50:48Z
dc.date.available
2024-01-23T10:50:48Z
dc.date.issued
2024-01-20
dc.identifier.issn
0269-7491
dc.identifier.uri
dc.description.abstract
The interaction of multiple stressors in freshwater ecosystems may lead to adverse effects on aquatic communities and their ecological functions. Microplastics (MPs) are a class of contaminants of emerging concern that can exert both direct and indirect ecotoxicological effects. A growing number of studies have investigated MPs-attached microbial communities, but the interaction between MPs and substrate-associated biofilm (i.e., on natural river substrates, such as stones and sediments) remains poorly studied. In this work, the combined effects of polyethylene MPs (PE-MPs) with a particle size of 10–45 μm (2 mg/L) and the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS) (20 μg/L) were investigated on river biofilms through a short-term exposure experiment (72 h). To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the combined effects of MPs and chemical contaminants in substrate-associated river biofilms were assessed. Different response parameters were evaluated, including (i) exposure assessment and ii) contaminants effects at different levels: bacterial community composition, antibiotic resistance, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), photosynthetic efficiency (Yeff), and leucine aminopeptidase activity (LAPA). Triclosan was accumulated in river biofilms (1189–1513 ng/g dw) alongside its biotransformation product methyl-triclosan (20−29 ng/g dw). Also, PE-MPs were detected on biofilms (168−292 MP/cm2), but they had no significant influence on the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of TCS. A moderate shift in bacterial community composition was driven by TCS, regardless of PE-MPs co-exposure (e.g., increased relative abundance of Sphingomonadaceae family). Additionally, Yeff and EPS content were significantly disrupted in TCS-exposed biofilms. Therefore, the most remarkable effects on river biofilms were related to the antimicrobial TCS, whereas single PE-MPs exposure did not alter any of the evaluated parameters. These results demonstrate that biofilms might act as environmental sink of MPs. Although no interaction between PE-MPs and TCS was observed, the possible indirect impact of other MPs-adsorbed contaminants on biofilms should be further assessed
dc.description.sponsorship
This work was supported by the Spanish Inter-Ministerial Science and Technology Commission through the ‘PLAS-MED’ project (CICYT, CTM2017-89701-C3). JM Castaño-Ortiz acknowledges the predoctoral grant from AGAUR (2019 FI_B 00881REF). The authors acknowledge the support of the Economy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan Government through a Consolidated Research Group (ICRA-ENV-2021 SGR 01282)
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Elsevier
dc.relation.isformatof
Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123369
dc.relation.ispartof
© Environmental Pollution, 2024, art. núm.123369
dc.relation.ispartofseries
Articles publicats (ICRA)
dc.rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.uri
dc.subject
dc.title
Accumulation of polyethylene microplastics in river biofilms and effect on the uptake, biotransformation and toxicity of the antimicrobial triclosan
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.date.embargoEndDate
info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-01-20
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed
dc.identifier.eissn
1873-6424