Microplastics are a contaminant of emerging concern which enter the marine environment from a variety of sources. The ingestion and toxic effects of microplastics on marine life, especially for filter feeders, are a cause of concern in view of their ubiquitous nature and their similar size as food sources. To assess the toxic effects of microspheres ingested by brine shrimp larvae, we exposed Artemia parthenogenetica to 10 μm polystyrene microspheres at different concentrations. These concentrations were approximate to the extrapolated marine aquatic environmentally relevant concentrations. The lowest polystyrene concentrations at which ingestion was visualized in A. parthenogenetica were 12 ± 0.57 particles/mL (6.7 ± 0.32 μg/L) and 1.1 ± 0.16 particles/mL (0.61 ± 0.088 μg/L), respectively. There were no significant impacts on the survival, growth or development in A. parthenogenetica occurring over the 14-d exposure across a range of polystyrene nominal concentrations (1–1000 particles/mL or 0.55–550 μg/L). However, abnormal ultrastructures of intestinal epithelial cells were observed upon exposure to polystyrene microspheres, including fewer and disordered microvilli, an increased number of mitochondrion and the appearance of autophagosome. These phenomena could affect nutrition absorption and energy metabolism. Although no major acute or chronic toxicity effects on A. parthenogenetica were observed over 24-h or 14-d exposures, this study provides evidence that the ingestion of polystyrene microplastics at extrapolated environmentally relevant concentrations can be visualized through a microscope to be causing a series of responses in intestinal epithelial cells.

微塑料是人们日益关注的污染物，它会通过多种来源进入海洋环境。鉴于它们的普遍性和与食物来源相似的尺寸，微塑料对海洋生物的摄取和毒性作用，特别是对于滤食器的摄取和毒性作用，引起了人们的关注。为了评估盐水虾幼虫摄食的微球的毒性作用，我们将不同浓度的孤雌生殖蒿暴露于10μm聚苯乙烯微球中。这些浓度近似于外推的海洋水生环境相关浓度。单性生殖拟南芥中可视化摄取的最低聚苯乙烯浓度分别为12±0.57颗粒/ mL（6.7±0.32μg/ L）和1.1±0.16颗粒/ mL（0.61±0.088μg/ L）。在一系列聚苯乙烯标称浓度（1–1000颗粒/ mL或0.55–550μg/ L）下暴露14天后，对孤雌生殖曲霉的存活，生长或发育没有显着影响。然而，在暴露于聚苯乙烯微球体时，观察到肠上皮细胞的异常超微结构，包括较少且无序的微绒毛，线粒体数量增加和自噬体的出现。这些现象可能会影响营养吸收和能量代谢。尽管对单性生殖孤单胞菌没有重大的急性或慢性毒性影响 在24小时或14天的暴露中观察到这种现象，这项研究提供了证据，可以通过显微镜观察摄入的外源环境相关浓度的聚苯乙烯微塑料，从而引起肠道上皮细胞一系列反应。