Toward ecological realism in microplastic toxicology: Intestinal responses to biofilm-colonized microplastics from distinct environmental compartments in fish.

Biofilm-colonized polyamide 66 microplastics increased intestinal MP accumulation in tilapia by 27.8% (water-colonized) and 24.9% (SWI-colonized) versus pristine PA66.

• Why it matters: Real-world microplastics carry compartment-specific biofilms, but toxicology often lacks links between those biofilm differences and intestinal outcomes in fish.
• What they did: The study developed 50-week in-situ biofilms on PVC, PLA, and PA66 MPs across the water column and sediment-water interface, then exposed tilapia for 14 days to pristine, water-colonized, or SWI-colonized PA66.
• The result: Biofilm colonization altered digestive enzyme activities and was linked to compartment-specific gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolomic perturbations, with water-column MPs tied to mucosal-related taxa and glycometabolism and SWI MPs to oxidative stress and nucleotide metabolism.

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