Research on marine pollution and its impacts on biota has focused over the last 15</p><p>years on an important anthropic pollutant, plastic, and specifically on the effects of</p><p>microplastics on marine organisms. Of varied types and size, they have different origins</p><p>depending on their final use and carry chemical pollutants that can contribute to</p><p>diversification of damage in organisms exposed to these microparticles. Although we</p><p>have an extensive literature on the physical effects of microplastics on marine biota, the</p><p>chemical effects of additives and pollutants adsorbed to its structure are still poorly</p><p>known, especially in basal metazoan organisms such as sponges. Among additives with</p><p>presence in the marine ecosystem, DEHP (Di(2ethylhexyl phthalate)), a product used as</p><p>plasticizer to increase the malleability of polymers such as PVC, has the greater</p><p>concentration. Potent endocrine disruptor in vertebrates, recently DEHP was found in</p><p>sponges tissues, but there are no reports about its possible chemical effects on the</p><p>physiology of these filter-feeder organisms. This work seeks to obtain, with the use of</p><p>classical methodologies, such as histology, and modern ones, such as metagenomics, the</p><p>first reports of the effects of exposure to DEHP in the sponge Hymeniacidon Heliophila,</p><p>at different biological levels.
