Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer <italic style="font-style: italic">Brachionus</italic> <italic style="font-style: italic">calyciflorus</italic> in response to nanoplastics

Huanhuan XU; Xiaodan NAN; Yingying GE; Yuxiang ZHOU; Chunting ZHOU; Kangning LIU; Zhenzhen LI; Man ZHANG; Jiaxin YANG

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-4283-1

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Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus in response to nanoplastics

Ecology | Updated：2025-12-16

- Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus in response to nanoplastics
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 43, Issue 6, Pages: 1877-1891(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.College of Fisheries, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
  2.College of Life science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
  3.School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
  4.Engineering Technology Research Center of Henan Province for Aquatic Animal Cultivation, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
  5.Observation and Research Station on Water Ecosystem in Danjiangkou Reservoir of Henan Province, Nanyang 474450, China
- Author bio：
  
  yangjx@njnu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-4283-1
  CLC：
- Received：28 October 2024，
  
  Online First：10 February 2025，
  
  Published：01 November 2025
- Accepted：
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XU Huanhuan,NAN Xiaodan,GE Yingying,et al.Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer ,Brachionus ,calyciflorus in response to nanoplastics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(06):1877-1891.
DOI：

XU Huanhuan,NAN Xiaodan,GE Yingying,et al.Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer ,Brachionus ,calyciflorus in response to nanoplastics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(06):1877-1891. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-4283-1.

摘要

Abstract

Nanoplastics (less than 1 µm in size

NPs) have emerged as a significant pollutant in aquatic environment

posing considerable threats to freshwater biota. However

the mechanisms

through which NPs modulate the predation responses of these organisms remain poorly elucidated. We investigated the impacts of polystyrene NPs

characterized by a representative particle size (diameter: 50 nm; concentration: 0–8 μg/L)

on the anti-predation defense mechanisms of mature rotifer

Brachionus

calyciflorus

against predator of rotifer

Asplanchna

brightwellii

utilizing transcriptomics to unravel the underlying molecular pathways. Results reveal that the posterolateral spine length and type of

calyciflorus

serve as robust indicators of defensive morphology

even in the presence of NPs exposure. Specifically

increasing concentrations of NPs and predator cues suppressed the defensive responses

which was associated with morphological transformations. This suppression was associated with the down-regulation of the HIF-1α signaling pathway

implicating potentially its role in modulating fight-or-flight responses. Furthermore

we identified functional crosstalk among multiple signaling pathways

including HIF-1α

PI3K-Akt

FoxO

and mTOR

calyciflorus

which may underpin the organism’s responses to polystyrene NP exposure. These findings contribute to the advancement of predictive models to assess the ecological risks posed by polystyrene NPs contamination in aquatic ecosystems.

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references

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Related Institution

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Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center

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Changes in induced-antipredation defense traits and transcriptome regulation of rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus in response to nanoplastics

DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-4283-1

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references