Acute and Chronic Toxicological Exposure Effects of Polystyrene Nanoparticles on Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Global pollution by microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), disrupts aquatic ecosystems and compromises the health of aquatic animals. However, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding acute high-dose and chronic low-dose polystyrene nano-plastic (PS-NP) exposures that simulate point-source and non-point source pollution events, respectively. The PS-NP concentrations (10 mg/L for acute exposure and 1 mg/L for chronic exposure) were designed to simulate realistic environmental scenarios. In this study, the giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) was used as a model to investigate the differences on physiological functions under acute (96 hours, 10 mg/L) and chronic (30 days,1 mg/L) PS-NP exposure. Transcriptome sequencing were utilized to analyze changes in gene expression, antioxidative and immunological responses of hepatopancreas. The study provided molecular-level evidences to support more accurate environmental risk assessments and informs mitigation strategies for safeguarding aquaculture health in contaminated freshwater ecosystems.