Evaluation of the sublethal effects of plastic microfibers in association with the antibiotic amoxicillin on Crassostrea brasiliana oysters

• Grant number: 22/12484-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Renata de Britto Mari
• Grantee: Leticia Fernanda da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/02347-5 - Exploring urban pollution in coastal ecosystems: microfiber-antibiotic interactions and toxicity in cells of a model oyster species, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Among microplastics, 95.6% of this group of contaminants in marine environments are represented by synthetic fibers, and their presence is detected in several organisms. The ubiquity of microplastics in ecosystems has been linked to adverse effects at different levels of biological organization. Furthermore, fibers have the ability to interact and adsorb emerging contaminants present in effluents, such as antibiotics, which can cause toxicity to organisms that come into contact with this group of substances. Considering this problem, the objective of this study is to evaluate the biochemical, cellular and histological changes caused by plastic microfibers associated with the antibiotic amoxicillin in the mangrove oyster Crassostrea brasiliana. To this end, the organisms will be exposed to treatments with polyester microfibers alone, amoxicillin alone and polyester microfibers fortified with amoxicillin over 28 days. After exposure, samples will be collected from the organisms' gills, digestive gland and hemolymph and changes in enzymes of the antioxidant system, lipid peroxidation (LPO), DNA damage (DNA strand-break), lysosomal membrane stability, energy consumption, histological damage and osmoregulatory will be evaluated. The data obtained will later be treated statistically, using permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) and principal components analysis (PCA). It is expected that the results will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of action and interaction between these contaminants that may affect estuarine species of relevant economic importance.