Nanoplastic exposure affects the intestinal microbiota of adult Drosophila flies

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPLs) are emerging environmental pollutants that have garnered significant attention over the past few decades due to their detrimental effects on human health through various exposure pathways. This study investigates the impact of MNPLs on gut microbiota, utilizing Drosop...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Rocabert Valverde, Arnau, Martín Pérez, Joan|||0009-0006-9137-3604, Pareras Puig, Laia|||0000-0002-1381-8894, Egea, Raquel|||0000-0002-6201-4112, Alaraby, Mohamed|||0000-0001-7488-3318, Cabrera Gumbau, Jordi Manuel|||0009-0007-3952-7589, Sarmiento Guardia, Iris, Martínez-Urtaza, Jaime|||0000-0001-6219-0418, Rubio Lorente, Laura|||0000-0002-2088-3803, Barguilla, Irene|||0000-0003-1081-4457, Marcos Dauder, Ricardo|||0000-0001-7891-357X, García Rodríguez, Alba|||0000-0002-1175-7418, Hernández Bonilla, Alba|||0000-0001-6938-1233
Format: article
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:311844
Online Access:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/311844
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179545
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Drosophila melanogaster
MNPLs
PCR
16S sequencing
MinION
Nanopore
Microbiota
Dysbiosis
Description
Summary:Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPLs) are emerging environmental pollutants that have garnered significant attention over the past few decades due to their detrimental effects on human health through various exposure pathways. This study investigates the impact of MNPLs on gut microbiota, utilizing Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Drosophila was selected for its microbiota's similarities to humans and its established role as an accessible and well-characterized model system. To analyze microbiota, full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed using the Nanopore sequencing platform, enabling comprehensive profiling of the microbial populations present in the samples. As models of MNPLs, two commercial polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPLs, 61.20 and 415.22 nm) and one lab-made polylactic acid nanoplastic (PLA-NPLs, 463.90 nm) were selected. As a positive control, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were used. The observed findings revealed that exposure to MNPLs induced notable alterations in gut microbiota, including a reduction in bacterial abundance and shifts in species composition. These results suggest that MNPLs exposure can lead to microbial dysbiosis and potential gut health disruptions through its interaction, either with the gut epithelial barrier or directly with the resident microorganisms.

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