

FOLLOWUS
1.Engineering Lab of Henan Province for Aquatic Animal Disease Control, Engineering Technology Research Center of Henan Province for Aquatic Animal Cultivation, College of Fisheries, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
2.Observation and Research Station on Water Ecosystem in Danjiangkou Reservoir of Henan Province, Nanyang 474450, China
3.Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollution Damage and Biological Control for Huaihe River Basin, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang 236037, China
liyongjing@htu.edu.cn
Received:24 February 2026,
Online First:24 September 2026,
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JIN Yujiao,WU Fengrui,WANG Feilong,et al.Effects of waterborne exposure to varying concentrations of micro- and nano-plastics on liver and intestinal histology, antioxidant systems, and intestinal microbiota in Qihe River crucian carp (,Carassius auratus)[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
JIN Yujiao,WU Fengrui,WANG Feilong,et al.Effects of waterborne exposure to varying concentrations of micro- and nano-plastics on liver and intestinal histology, antioxidant systems, and intestinal microbiota in Qihe River crucian carp (,Carassius auratus)[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI:.
The Qihe River crucian carp (
Carassius
auratus
) is an economically important freshwater germplasm resource endemic to Henan Province
China
where inland aquaculture is increasingly challenged by microplastic contamination. To assess the ecotoxicological risks of micro(nano)plastics in this regional species
a 28-d chronic exposure experiment was conducted to compare the biological effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) at two concentration levels (50 and 500 μg/L)
with a specific focus on growth performance
tissue histopathological characteristics
digestive and antioxidant enzyme activities
expression of immune-related genes
and intestinal microbiome composition. The results demonstrated that micro(nano)plastic exposure signif
icantly reduced weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR)
induced intestinal villus shortening
splitting
and epithelial shedding
and caused hepatocyte vacuolization and hepatic sinusoid dilation. Intestinal
α
-amylase (AMS)
trypsin
and lipase activities
as well as hepatic total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD)
total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC)
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)
malondialdehyde (MDA)
alkaline phosphatase (AKP)
and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities
were significantly altered in a concentration-dependent manner after exposure. Furthermore
in the liver
the expression of the immune-related genes such as tumor necrosis factor
α
(
tnf
-
α
)
interferon
γ
(
ifn
-
γ
)
interleukin 8 (
il
-
8
)
and interleukin 6 (
il
-
6
) also responded in a size- and concentration-dependent manner. In the exploratory microbiota analysis
plastic exposure decreased community evenness and reshaped taxonomic composition
characterized by reduced potentially beneficial taxa and enriched stress-associated or opportunistic taxa. Overall
PS-NPs produced stronger adverse effects than PS-MPs under the same nominal exposure level. These results provide species-specific evidence that waterborne plastic particles can impair gut and liver health
antioxidant balance
and intestinal microbial homeostasis in Qihe River crucian carp
and support a size-dependent hazard assessment for micro- and nano-plastics in freshwater aquaculture.
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