Dietary exposure to polystyrene microplastics impairs muscle growth via gut microbiota dysbiosis and hepatic oxidative stress along the gut-liver-muscle axis in Qihe gibel carp (Carassius gibelio var. Qihe).
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Dietary polystyrene microplastics at 500 μm impair growth and cause tissue damage in Carassius gibelio var. Qihe, reducing body weight by up to 100 μg/g feed exposure.
- Why it matters: Understanding how microplastics affect freshwater fish is vital due to their ecological and economic importance, yet their systemic impacts and mechanisms remain poorly understood.
- What they did: Researchers exposed fish to 0–100 μg/g feed of PS-MPs for 28 days, analyzing growth, tissue histology, gut microbiota, and gene expression to uncover toxicity pathways.
- The result: Microplastic exposure led to dose-dependent growth suppression, tissue injuries, gut microbiota dysbiosis, and altered gene pathways related to cell death and muscle function, revealing a gut-liver-muscle axis disruption.