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Aquatic plastisphere: Interactions between plastics and biofilms
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Researchers reviewed the ecology of the aquatic plastisphere—biofilms colonizing plastic debris—finding that plastic surfaces selectively enrich microbial taxa, including pathogens and pollutant-degraders, with community composition shaped by polymer type, UV weathering, and aquatic environment.
Because of the high production rates, low recycling rates, and poor waste management of plastics, an increasing amount of plastic is entering the aquatic environment, where it can provide new ecological niches for microbial communities and form a so-called plastisphere. Recent studies have focused on the one-way impact of plastic substrata or biofilm communities. However, our understanding of the two-way interactions between plastics and biofilms is still limited. This review first summarizes the formation process and the co-occurrence network analysis of the aquatic plastisphere to comprehensively illustrate the succession pattern of biofilm communities and the potential consistency between keystone taxa and specific environmental behavior of the plastisphere. Furthermore, this review sheds light on mutual interactions between plastics and biofilms. Plastic properties, environmental conditions, and colonization time affect biofilm development. Meanwhile, the biofilm communities, in turn, influence the environmental behaviors of plastics, including transport, contaminant accumulation, and especially the fragmentation and degradation of plastics. Based on a systematic literature review and cross-referencing from these disciplines, the current research focus, and future challenges in exploring aquatic plastisphere development and biofilm-plastic interactions are proposed.
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Plastisphere community assemblage of aquatic environment: plastic-microbe interaction, role in degradation and characterization technologies
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This review examines the plastisphere—microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces in aquatic environments—covering how these biofilms form, their role in plastic biodegradation, and current characterization technologies for studying plastic-microbe interactions.
(micro)Plastic biofilms: Keeping afloat by carving out a new niche
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This review examined how microplastics serve as persistent substrates for microbial biofilm formation in natural environments, creating a novel ecological niche called the plastisphere that hosts distinct microbial communities. The authors discussed how these biofilms alter microplastic surface properties and may enhance the persistence and transport of plastic particles and associated microbes.
Biofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.
Biofilms on Plastic Debris and the Microbiome
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This review synthesizes knowledge on biofilms that colonize plastic debris in the ocean, known as the plastisphere, covering how microbial communities are structured and how they interact with the surrounding environment. The authors discuss implications for nutrient cycling, pathogen transport, and polymer degradation.
Aquatic Biofilms and Plastisphere
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This review examined aquatic biofilms and plastisphere communities that colonize microplastic surfaces, discussing how plastic substrates select for distinct microbial assemblages and may harbor pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.