The Alleviative Effects of Weizmannia coagulans CGMCC 9951 on the Reproductive Toxicity of Caenorhabditis elegans Induced by Polystyrene Microplastics

The increased emission and accumulation of microplastics pose a severe threat to humans and the environment. As effective biological agents for alleviating the effects of microplastics, the mechanism of action of probiotics remains unclear. In this study, based on the successful establishment of a reproductive virulence model of <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> (<i>C. elegans</i>), we explored the effect and mechanism of <i>Weizmannia coagulans</i> CGMCC 9951 (<i>W. coagulans</i> CGMCC 9951) on the reproductive toxicity of <i>C. elegans</i>. Our results showed that the gonad area and the number of offspring increased but the number of germ cells undergoing apoptosis decreased by 14% and 24% in <i>C. elegans</i>, after CGMCC 9951 treatments. Antioxidant test results showed that CGMCC 9951 increased the activity of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), and the content of Glutathione (GSH) in <i>C. elegans</i>. In addition, it was found by qPCR and mutagenesis experiments verified that CGMCC 9951 alleviated reproductive toxicity through the DNA checkpoint signaling pathway. Our findings suggested that CGMCC 9951 could alleviate the reproductive toxicity of polystyrene microplastics in <i>C. elegans</i> by enhancing antioxidant capacity and inhibiting DNA damage checkpoint signaling pathway. The above results suggest that probiotics can be used as a potential approach to alleviate the reproductive toxicity induced by polystyrene microplastics in humans.