Short-term exposure to nominal PFBS concentrations is associated with reduced isotopic food uptake in benthic foraminifera
Abstract
Pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is an urgent environmental issue, yet their effects on microbial eukaryotes remain poorly understood. We investigated the association between short-term exposure to nominal concentrations of perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), a short-chain PFAS, and isotopic food uptake by five benthic foraminiferal taxa: Bulimina marginata , Cassidulina laevigata , Eubuliminella sp., Globobulimina turgida and Nonionella sp. T1. Foraminifera were exposed for three days and supplied with ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labelled lyophilized diatoms. Only B. marginata was exposed to the full nominal concentration gradient (0, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 µg L⁻¹); the remaining taxa were tested at 0 and 100 µg L⁻¹. Across taxa, nominal PFBS treatment was associated with lower pC and pN uptake, while species × treatment interactions were not significant. In B. marginata , both pC and pN uptake differed among concentrations and were significantly lower than the control at 1, 10 and 100 µg L⁻¹ after Tukey adjustment, but not at 0.1 µg L⁻¹. The response was non-monotonic, with partial recovery at 100 µg L⁻¹ relative to 1–10 µg L⁻¹. These results provide initial evidence that short-term exposure to PFBS-containing treatments is associated with reduced isotopic food uptake in benthic foraminifera. Because concentrations were not analytically verified, no methanol-free vehicle control was included, and replication was limited, these results should be interpreted as an acute laboratory hazard-screening study rather than evidence for a biological threshold or species-specific sensitivity.
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BibTeX
@article{lintner2026shortterm,
title = {{Short-term exposure to nominal PFBS concentrations is associated with reduced isotopic food uptake in benthic foraminifera}},
author = {Michael Lintner and Irina Polovodova Asteman and Ketil Hylland and Joachim Sturve and Wolfgang Wanek and Jan Goleń and Jarosław Tyszka},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-77019-1},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-77019-1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Short-term exposure to nominal PFBS concentrations is associated with reduced isotopic food uptake in benthic foraminifera
AU - Michael Lintner
AU - Irina Polovodova Asteman
AU - Ketil Hylland
AU - Joachim Sturve
AU - Wolfgang Wanek
AU - Jan Goleń
AU - Jarosław Tyszka
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-77019-1
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-77019-1
AB - Pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is an urgent environmental issue, yet their effects on microbial eukaryotes remain poorly understood. We investigated the association between short-term exposure to nominal concentrations of perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), a short-chain PFAS, and isotopic food uptake by five benthic foraminiferal taxa: Bulimina marginata , Cassidulina laevigata , Eubuliminella sp., Globobulimina turgida and Nonionella sp. T1. Foraminifera were exposed for three days and supplied with ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labelled lyophilized diatoms. Only B. marginata was exposed to the full nominal concentration gradient (0, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 µg L⁻¹); the remaining taxa were tested at 0 and 100 µg L⁻¹. Across taxa, nominal PFBS treatment was associated with lower pC and pN uptake, while species × treatment interactions were not significant. In B. marginata , both pC and pN uptake differed among concentrations and were significantly lower than the control at 1, 10 and 100 µg L⁻¹ after Tukey adjustment, but not at 0.1 µg L⁻¹. The response was non-monotonic, with partial recovery at 100 µg L⁻¹ relative to 1–10 µg L⁻¹. These results provide initial evidence that short-term exposure to PFBS-containing treatments is associated with reduced isotopic food uptake in benthic foraminifera. Because concentrations were not analytically verified, no methanol-free vehicle control was included, and replication was limited, these results should be interpreted as an acute laboratory hazard-screening study rather than evidence for a biological threshold or species-specific sensitivity.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -