TY - JOUR
T1 - Low-dose addition of silver nanoparticles stresses marine plankton communities
AU - Tsiola, Anastasia
AU - Toncelli, Claudio
AU - Fodelianakis, Stilianos
AU - Michoud, Grégoire
AU - Bucheli, Thomas D.
AU - Gavriilidou, Asimenia
AU - Kagiorgi, Margarita
AU - Kalantzi, Ioanna
AU - Knauer, Katja
AU - Kotoulas, Georgios
AU - Mylona, Kyriaki
AU - Papadopoulou, Eleftheria
AU - Psarra, Stella
AU - Santi, Ioulia
AU - Tsapakis, Manolis
AU - Daffonchio, Daniele
AU - Pergantis, Spiros A.
AU - Pitta, Paraskevi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The release of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is expected to rise in the near future, with possible negative effects on aquatic life and enhancement of microbial resistance against AgNPs. However, a realistic evaluation of the toxicity of AgNPs to the marine ecosystem is currently missing. Therefore, we designed a mesocosm experiment to assess the impact of AgNP exposure on natural microbial plankton community dynamics in a coastal marine site at environmentally relevant concentrations. We monitored changes in the composition of the planktonic community, from viruses to protists. Further, we analyzed the concentration and properties of AgNPs for the total time of exposure. We found that the addition of AgNPs even at a low dose affected the plankton communities. Specifically, the growth of Synechococcus was inhibited and bacterial community composition significantly changed. Additionally, the amount of a lysogeny-related gene increased and viral auxiliary metabolic genes that are involved in cyanobacterial photosynthesis decreased, revealing a damaged photosynthetic potential after AgNP exposure. Microbial plankton was significantly affected due to both increased dissolved silver ions and decreased AgNP size. Our results highlight that the release of AgNPs alters the functioning of the marine food web by hampering important viral and bacterial processes.
AB - The release of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is expected to rise in the near future, with possible negative effects on aquatic life and enhancement of microbial resistance against AgNPs. However, a realistic evaluation of the toxicity of AgNPs to the marine ecosystem is currently missing. Therefore, we designed a mesocosm experiment to assess the impact of AgNP exposure on natural microbial plankton community dynamics in a coastal marine site at environmentally relevant concentrations. We monitored changes in the composition of the planktonic community, from viruses to protists. Further, we analyzed the concentration and properties of AgNPs for the total time of exposure. We found that the addition of AgNPs even at a low dose affected the plankton communities. Specifically, the growth of Synechococcus was inhibited and bacterial community composition significantly changed. Additionally, the amount of a lysogeny-related gene increased and viral auxiliary metabolic genes that are involved in cyanobacterial photosynthesis decreased, revealing a damaged photosynthetic potential after AgNP exposure. Microbial plankton was significantly affected due to both increased dissolved silver ions and decreased AgNP size. Our results highlight that the release of AgNPs alters the functioning of the marine food web by hampering important viral and bacterial processes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051542012&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/c8en00195b
DO - 10.1039/c8en00195b
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85051542012
SN - 2051-8153
VL - 5
SP - 1965
EP - 1980
JO - Environmental Science: Nano
JF - Environmental Science: Nano
IS - 8
ER -