Impacts of Four Common Nanoparticles on the Metabolism of a Marine Bivalve Species

The rapid development of nanotechnology boosts the massive production and utilization of various nanoparticles (NPs). However, the NPs escaped into environments form emergent pollutants, which poses a potential threat to marine organisms and ecosystems. Due to their sessile filter feeding lifestyle, marine bivalves live in pollution-prone coastal areas are more susceptible to land-sourced pollutants such as NPs. However, the impacts of many NPs on the metabolism, one of the most critical physiological processes of an organism, still remain largely unknown in bivalve species. To fill this knowledge gap, in this study the impacts of four common NPs (nZnO, nFe2O3 , nCuO, and MWCNT) on the filtration rate, oxygen consumption rate, ammonia excretion rate, and O:N ratio was investigated in the blood clam, Tegillarca granosa . In addition, the expressions of ten key metabolism-related genes upon exposure to these NPs were also analyzed. The results obtained demonstrated that exposure of blood clams to the NPs tested resulted in a reduction in the food intake (indicated by declined filtration rate), a shift in the metabolism substance, and disruptions in key metabolism-related molecular pathways (i.e., glycolysis and TCA cycle), which may render blood clam in energy shortage and thus pose significant threat to the health of this important bivalve species