Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of <italic style="font-style: italic">Microglena </italic>sp.

Yingxia LI; Dong XU; Xiaowen ZHANG; Yitao WANG; Ke SUN; Xiao FAN; Xintong HUANG; Yanmin SUN; Fan YANG; Yapeng WANG; Naihao YE

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-5078-0

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Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of Microglena sp.

Ecology | Updated：2026-05-07

- Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of Microglena sp.
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 44, Issue 2, Pages: 681-692(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.School of Marine Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
  2.National Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266072, China
- Author bio：
  
  yenh@ysfri.ac.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-5078-0
  CLC：
- Received：25 March 2025，
  
  Accepted：11 May 2025，
  
  Online First：06 June 2025，
  
  Published：01 March 2026
- Accepted：
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LI Yingxia,XU Dong,ZHANG Xiaowen,et al.Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of ,Microglena sp.[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(02):681-692.
DOI：

LI Yingxia,XU Dong,ZHANG Xiaowen,et al.Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of ,Microglena sp.[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(02):681-692. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-5078-0.

摘要

Abstract

Mobility is critical for the survival of flagellated microalgae and plays a key role in maintaining marine ecosystem stability. To assess the environmental risks posed by polylactic acid microplastics (PLA-MPs)

we investigated their effects on the photosynthesis and motility of

Microglena

sp. through indoor and outdoor mesocosm experiments at concentrations of 10

225

and 375 particles/mL. Results reveal that PLA-MPs inhibited the growth of

Microglena

sp. in a dose-dependent manner

with a maximum inhibition rate of 44.07% at 375 particles/mL. Additionally

PLA-MPs disrupted photosynthetic activity

chlorophyll biosynthesis

and induced oxidative stress. The swimming velocity and motility patterns of

Microglena

sp. were also significantly affected. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that down-regulation of flagella-related genes contributed to reduced motility

while suppressed photosynthetic gene expression corresponded to decreased photosynthetic efficiency. These findings enhanced our understanding of the adverse effects of PLA-MPs on microalgae and provide valuable insights for evaluating the ecological risks of PLA-MPs in marine ecosystem.

关键词

Keywords

references

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Toxic effects of polylactic acid microplastics on photosynthesis and motility of Microglena sp.

DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-5078-0

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references