Evidence of microplastic-mediated transfer of PCB-153 to sea urchin tissues using radiotracers

Marine Pyl , Angus Taylor , François Oberhänsli , Peter Swarzenski , Marc Besson (1) , Bruno Danis , Marc Metian

1 BIOM - Biologie intégrative des organismes marins

The present study reports the first experimental microplastic-mediated transfer of a key PCB congener into adult specimens of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Three experiments were conducted to assess whether ¹⁴C-PCB-153 adsorbed onto negatively buoyant MPs (500-600 µm) is bioavailable to the sea urchin : (1) exposure to a low concentration of ¹⁴C-PCB-153 sorbed onto a high number of virgin MPs ("lowPCB highMP" experiment), (2) exposure to a high concentration of ¹⁴C-PCB-153 sorbed onto a relatively low number of virgin MPs ("highPCB lowMP" experiment), and (3) exposure to a low concentration of ¹⁴C-PCB-153 sorbed onto a relatively low number of aged MP ("lowPCB lowMP" experiment). Results showed that the transfer of ¹⁴C-PCB-153 from MPs to sea urchin tissues occurred in each of the three 15-day experiments, suggesting that MPs located on the seafloor may act as vectors of PCB-153 to sea urchins even during short-term exposure events.

Mots clés: Microplastics; polychlorinated biphenyls; bioaccumulation; bioavailability; Paracentrotus lividus

Domaines: Ecotoxicologie

Marine Pyl, Angus Taylor, François Oberhänsli, Peter Swarzenski, Marc Besson, et al.. Evidence of microplastic-mediated transfer of PCB-153 to sea urchin tissues using radiotracers. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2022, 185, pp.114322. ⟨10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114322⟩. ⟨hal-03948652⟩