Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics
In the severe pollution area of nanoplastics (NPs) and cadmium ions (Cd2+), the joint effects of their high environmental concentrations on primary producers may differ from those of low environmental doses. Thus, we investigated the physiological changes, cell morphology, molecular dynamic simulati...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024002198 |
| _version_ | 1797213490939691008 |
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| author | Huankai Li Lihong Lin Hui Liu Xingying Deng Lei Wang Yuanwen Kuang Zheng Lin Ping Liu Yifan Wang Zhimin Xu |
| author_facet | Huankai Li Lihong Lin Hui Liu Xingying Deng Lei Wang Yuanwen Kuang Zheng Lin Ping Liu Yifan Wang Zhimin Xu |
| author_sort | Huankai Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the severe pollution area of nanoplastics (NPs) and cadmium ions (Cd2+), the joint effects of their high environmental concentrations on primary producers may differ from those of low environmental doses. Thus, we investigated the physiological changes, cell morphology, molecular dynamic simulation, phenotypic interactions, and metabolomics responses of C. pyrenoidosa to high environmental concentrations of NPs and Cd2+ after 12-d acclimation. After 12-d cultivation, mono-NPs and mono-Cd2+ reduced cell density and triggered antioxidant enzymes, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production, and cell aggregation to defend their unfavorable effects. Based on the molecular dynamic simulation, the chlorine atoms of the NPs and Cd2+ had charge attraction with the nitrogen and phosphorus atoms in the choline and phosphate groups in the cell membrane, thereby NPs and Cd2+ could adsorb on the cells to destroy them. In the joint exposure, NPs dominated the variations of ultrastructure and metabolomics and alleviated the toxicity of NPs and Cd2+. Due to its high environmental concentration, more NPs could compete with the microalgae for Cd2+ and thicken cell walls, diminishing the Cd2+ content and antioxidant enzymes of microalgae. NPs addition also decreased the EPS content, while the bound EPS with –CN bond was kept to detoxicate Cd2+. Metabolomics results showed that the NPs downregulated nucleotide, arachidonic acid, and tryptophan metabolisms, while the Cd2+ showed an opposite trend. Compared with their respective exposures, metabolomics results found the changes in metabolic molecules, suggesting the NPs_Cd2+ toxicity was mitigated by balancing nucleotide, arachidonic acid, tryptophan, and arginine and proline metabolisms. Consequently, this study provided new insights that simultaneous exposure to high environmental concentrations of NPs and Cd2+ mitigated microalgae cellular toxicity, which may change their fates and biogeochemical cycles in aquatic systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:59:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1a2a5672cc1475091d2917778564b67 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:59:07Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1a2a5672cc1475091d2917778564b672024-04-12T04:44:16ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202024-04-01186108633Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomicsHuankai Li0Lihong Lin1Hui Liu2Xingying Deng3Lei Wang4Yuanwen Kuang5Zheng Lin6Ping Liu7Yifan Wang8Zhimin Xu9Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, 999077, Hong Kong, China; College of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, ChinaMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, ChinaCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, ChinaGraduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, JapanGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Corresponding author.In the severe pollution area of nanoplastics (NPs) and cadmium ions (Cd2+), the joint effects of their high environmental concentrations on primary producers may differ from those of low environmental doses. Thus, we investigated the physiological changes, cell morphology, molecular dynamic simulation, phenotypic interactions, and metabolomics responses of C. pyrenoidosa to high environmental concentrations of NPs and Cd2+ after 12-d acclimation. After 12-d cultivation, mono-NPs and mono-Cd2+ reduced cell density and triggered antioxidant enzymes, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production, and cell aggregation to defend their unfavorable effects. Based on the molecular dynamic simulation, the chlorine atoms of the NPs and Cd2+ had charge attraction with the nitrogen and phosphorus atoms in the choline and phosphate groups in the cell membrane, thereby NPs and Cd2+ could adsorb on the cells to destroy them. In the joint exposure, NPs dominated the variations of ultrastructure and metabolomics and alleviated the toxicity of NPs and Cd2+. Due to its high environmental concentration, more NPs could compete with the microalgae for Cd2+ and thicken cell walls, diminishing the Cd2+ content and antioxidant enzymes of microalgae. NPs addition also decreased the EPS content, while the bound EPS with –CN bond was kept to detoxicate Cd2+. Metabolomics results showed that the NPs downregulated nucleotide, arachidonic acid, and tryptophan metabolisms, while the Cd2+ showed an opposite trend. Compared with their respective exposures, metabolomics results found the changes in metabolic molecules, suggesting the NPs_Cd2+ toxicity was mitigated by balancing nucleotide, arachidonic acid, tryptophan, and arginine and proline metabolisms. Consequently, this study provided new insights that simultaneous exposure to high environmental concentrations of NPs and Cd2+ mitigated microalgae cellular toxicity, which may change their fates and biogeochemical cycles in aquatic systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024002198Co-exposureHeavy metalsPlastics pollutionExtracellular polymeric substancesMetabolites balance |
| spellingShingle | Huankai Li Lihong Lin Hui Liu Xingying Deng Lei Wang Yuanwen Kuang Zheng Lin Ping Liu Yifan Wang Zhimin Xu Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics Environment International Co-exposure Heavy metals Plastics pollution Extracellular polymeric substances Metabolites balance |
| title | Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| title_full | Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| title_fullStr | Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| title_short | Simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity: Insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| title_sort | simultaneous exposure to nanoplastics and cadmium mitigates microalgae cellular toxicity insights from molecular simulation and metabolomics |
| topic | Co-exposure Heavy metals Plastics pollution Extracellular polymeric substances Metabolites balance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024002198 |
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