title: Transfer of benzo[a]pyrene from microplastics to Artemia nauplii and further to zebrafish via a trophic food web experiment: CYP1A induction and visual tracking of persistent organic pollutants.
abstract: The uptake of microplastic particles and the transfer of potential harmful substances along with microplastics has been studied in a variety of organisms, especially invertebrates. However, the potential accumulation of very small microplastic particles along food webs ending with vertebrate models has not been investigated so far. Therefore, a simple artificial food chain with Artemia sp. nauplii and zebrafish (Danio rerio) was established to analyze the transfer of microplastic particles and associated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) between different trophic levels. Very small (1-20 μm) microplastic particles accumulated in Artemia nauplii and were subsequently transferred to fish. Virgin particles not loaded with POPs did not cause any observable physical harm in the intestinal tracts of zebrafish, although parts of the particles were retained within the mucus of intestinal villi and might even have been taken up by epithelial cells. The transfer of associated POPs was tested with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo[a]pyrene and an ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay for CYP1A induction in zebrafish liver as well as via fluorescence analyses. Whereas a significant induction in the EROD assay could not be shown, because of high individual variation and low sensitivity regarding substance concentration, the fluorescence tracking of benzo[a]pyrene indicates that food-borne microplastic-associated POPs may actually desorb in the intestine of fish and are thus transferred to the intestinal epithelium and liver. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1656-1666. © 2016 SETAC.
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology and Toxicology, Center for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Batel
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology and Toxicology, Center for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Linti
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology and Toxicology, Center for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scherer
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology and Toxicology, Center for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Erdinger
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology and Toxicology, Center for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Braunbeck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D020387:Food Chain; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D061848:Optical Imaging; D010316:Particle Size; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1
keywords: Benzo[a]pyrene; CYP1A induction; Food web; Microplastics; Zebrafish