Meeting Abstract

P3-79   -   Impact of microplastics in sea anemone Nematostella vectensis defense mechanisms, survivability and behavior. Frias Vellon, AI*; Cook, K; Macrander, J; Florida Southern College; Florida Southern College; Florida Southern College andrea.frias.1999@gmail.com

Increased use of plastics, coupled with poor disposal practices, have allowed plastic waste products to be found at higher numbers in many marine environments. Consumption of microplastics in corals, mollusks, and sea anemones in experimental settings have demonstrated growth rate reduction, lower feeding rates, and reduced ability to remove pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we focused our attention on the emerging model organism N. vectensis to determine the effects of microplastics on this sea anemone’s gene expression profiles from laboratory established strains and wild populations over a long period of time. We also evaluated microplastic consumption's impact on survivability and changes in behavioral interactions with prey and predators, and the role of elevated temperatures. Our differential gene expression analysis showed that heat shock proteins (HSPs) 70, 90, 20, and 26 were the most significant up-regulated genes. HSPs are involved in the cellular stress response and play critical roles in protein folding and stability. Further, the most significantly down-regulated gene expression was that of toxin gene Nv1, a major component of the anemones venom system. Behavioral results showed no significant findings on microplastic consumption and predation, however, when microplastic consumption was combined with elevated temperatures, N. vectensis showed decreased predation potential. These behavioral results correlate with the gene expression changes seen in the Nv1 toxin gene in N. vectensis, due to the significant down-regulation of the Nv1 gene after the first hour of microplastics exposure in combination with elevated temperatures. These results show that elevated temperature in combination with microplastic exposure has significant impacts on venom production and the reduction of gene inducibility in regards to predation behavior.