On measuring nanoparticle toxicity and clearance with Paramecium caudatum

Mayne, Richard; Morgan, Jack; Whiting, James G. H.; Phillips, Neil; Adamatzky, Andrew

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45353-2

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Similar to other aquatic species, Paramecium exhibited pronounced chemotaxis, and this is likely one of the behaviors they rely on to avoid hazards and pursue prey [ 50 ]. Numerous studies demonstrated the attraction and repulsion behavior of Paramecium in response to a set of defined chemical cues, strongly indicating the presence of specific chemoreceptors [ 25 , 51 , 52 ]. Glycerol is a commonly used reagent to disrupt the electrical properties and integrity of membranes while maintaining a functional contractile system in Paramecium [ 53 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paramecium bursaria as a Potential Tool for Evaluation of Microplastics Toxicity

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2022

Biology

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Microplastics (MPs) are normally defined as small plastic wastes with a size of 1 μm to 5 mm in diameter. This tiny plastic debris is abundant in aquatic systems and poses a great threat to aquatic biota. To date, toxicological assessment of MPs is predominantly dependent on metazoan animals, although their applications are sometimes limited due to the high cost, narrow ecological niche, or ethical considerations. In this regard, unicellular eukaryotes (i.e., protozoa) that are ubiquitously present in nature represent a promising alternative for evaluating the toxicity of MPs. In this study, we selected Paramecium bursaria (P. bursaria) as a representative of protozoa and further investigated behavioral and molecular changes in MPs-exposed P. bursaria. Our results showed that following MPs uptake, P. bursaria exhibited various changes, including anomalies in swimming patterns, reduction in moving speed, impairment of avoidance behavior, elevation of oxidative stress, and potential disturbance of endosymbiosis. These elicited changes in P. bursaria in response to MPs exposure were pronounced and measurable. Overall, this study demonstrated that P. bursaria could serve as a promising alternative for the toxicological assessment of MPs and may be further applied to evaluate the toxicity of other environmental contaminants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paramecium bursaria as a Potential Tool for Evaluation of Microplastics Toxicity

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2022

Biology

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“…The growth of T. thermophila was inhibited when exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics of 20.8-24.1 nm diameter due to induced calcium homeostasis, consequently increasing mitochondrial permeability and the generation of reactive oxygen species (Wu et al, 2021). Paramecium caudatum ingested starchcoated multi-core magnetite nanoparticles of 200 nm diameter, which acted as a chemoattractant and internalized them within its food vacuoles (Mayne et al, 2019). Ingestion of non-nutritious particles can affect the feeding behavior of ciliates, as observed on a Paramecium, which effectively eliminated the cyanobacterium microcystis but with the ingestion rate drastically reduced when the ciliate was exposed to 0.1 mg/L ZnO nanoparticles (Zhang et al, 2022).…”

Section: Ingestion Of Microplastics and Nanoplastics By Ciliated Micr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro- and nanoplastics in freshwater ecosystems—interaction with and impact upon bacterivorous ciliates

Bulannga,

Schmidt

2024

Front. Earth Sci.

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The ubiquitous occurrence of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments is of major concern as these priority pollutants are readily ingested by a wide variety of aquatic organisms. Although quantitative data on the interaction of microplastics and even more so on nanoplastics in freshwater environments and their interaction with the aquatic food web are still limited, studies have nevertheless demonstrated that even micro- or nanosized plastic particles can be ingested by various members of the zooplankton functioning as primary consumers. Bacterivorous ciliates are crucial members of the microzooplankton. These fascinating microorganisms are critical components of microbial loops in freshwater environments and are essential links between different trophic levels within the aquatic food web. Ingestion of microscopic plastic particles affects the ciliate cell on a cellular and even on the molecular level. Physical and chemical characteristics such as size, density, and surface properties influence the stability, distribution, retention, transportation, and bioavailability of the microplastic particles for ingestion by ciliates. In turn, the environmental fate of microplastics and nanoplastics can affect their ecotoxicity via surface modifications, such as forming the so-called eco-corona. The consequences of the interaction of ciliates with microplastics and nanoplastics are the potential bioaccumulation of plastic particles through the food web and the possible interference of these emerging pollutants with controlling bacterial and possibly even viral abundance in freshwater environments. Due to the limited data available, studies elucidating the environmental bacterivorous ciliate-micro-/nanoplastics interaction are a priority research topic if we want to holistically assess the environmental fate and ecotoxicity of these pollutants.

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“…Paramecium (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) is a unicellular protist with a broad, nearly global distribution in fresh and brackish water bodies. This ciliate is studied, among other things ( Karunanithi et al, 2019 ; Kelz and Mashour, 2019 ; Mayne et al, 2019 ; Soares et al, 2019 ; Arnaiz et al, 2020 ) for the abundance and diversity of its endosymbionts ( Floriano et al, 2018 ; Garushyants et al, 2018 ; Grosser et al, 2018 ; Potekhin et al, 2018 ; Sabaneyeva et al, 2018 ; Schrallhammer et al, 2018 ; Castelli et al, 2019a , b ; Fokin et al, 2019 ; Koehler et al, 2019 ; Lanzoni et al, 2019 ; Plotnikov et al, 2019 ). Host-symbiont interactions and their outcome have been studied for example using Holospora ( Lohse et al, 2006 ; Hori et al, 2008 ; Fokin and Görtz, 2009 ; Nidelet et al, 2009 ; Duncan et al, 2013 , 2018 ; Banerji et al, 2015 ; Castelli et al, 2015 ; Dusi et al, 2015 ; Garushyants et al, 2018 ; Grosser et al, 2018 ) Caedibacter ( Kusch et al, 2002 ; Dusi et al, 2014 ; Grosser et al, 2018 ; Schu and Schrallhammer, 2018 ; Koehler et al, 2019 ) and Preeria ( Bella et al, 2016 ; Potekhin et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Obligate Symbiont “Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila” Has Variable Effects on the Growth of Different Host Species

et al. 2020

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Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila" is a recently described member of Rickettsiaceae which comprises exclusively obligate intracellular bacteria. Interestingly, these bacteria can be found in a huge diversity of eukaryotic hosts (protist, green algae, metazoa) living in marine, brackish or freshwater habitats. Screening of amplicon datasets revealed a high frequency of these bacteria especially in freshwater environments, most likely associated to eukaryotic hosts. The relationship of "Ca. Megaira polyxenophila" with their hosts and their impact on host fitness have not been studied so far. Even less is known regarding the responses of these intracellular bacteria to potential stressors. In this study, we used two phylogenetically close species of the freshwater ciliate Paramecium, Paramecium primaurelia and Paramecium pentaurelia (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) naturally infected by "Ca. Megaira polyxenophila". In order to analyze the effect of the symbiont on the fitness of these two species, we compared the growth performance of both infected and aposymbiotic paramecia at different salinity levels in the range of freshwater and oligohaline brackish water i.e., at 0, 2, and 4.5 ppt. For the elimination of "Ca. Megaira polyxenophila" we established an antibiotic treatment to obtain symbiont-free lines and confirmed its success by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The population and infection dynamics during the growth experiment were observed by cell density counts and FISH. Paramecia fitness was compared applying generalized additive mixed models. Surprisingly, both infected Paramecium species showed higher densities under all salinity concentrations. The tested salinity concentrations did not significantly affect the growth of any of the two species directly, but we observed the loss of the endosymbiont after prolonged exposure to higher salinity levels. This experimental data might explain the higher frequency of "Ca. M. polyxenophila" in freshwater habitats as observed from amplicon data.

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On measuring nanoparticle toxicity and clearance with Paramecium caudatum

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Paramecium bursaria as a Potential Tool for Evaluation of Microplastics Toxicity

Paramecium bursaria as a Potential Tool for Evaluation of Microplastics Toxicity

Micro- and nanoplastics in freshwater ecosystems—interaction with and impact upon bacterivorous ciliates

The Obligate Symbiont “Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila” Has Variable Effects on the Growth of Different Host Species

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