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Decoding the seagrass plastisphere: Metagenomic insights into biogeochemical cycling of biogenic elements and ecological consequences
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Plastic debris floating in seagrass meadows—vital "blue carbon" ecosystems that help absorb planet-warming CO2—creates a unique surface where microbes cluster and behave differently than they do in the surrounding water and sediment. This research found that these plastic-dwelling microbial communities may increase greenhouse gas release, produce more toxic hydrogen sulfide, and disrupt nutrient balance, potentially weakening seagrass health and its ability to fight climate change. While this study focused on ecosystem impacts rather than direct effects on people, healthier seagrass meadows support ocean health, c
• Seagrass plastispheres host taxonomically distinct but functionally overlapping microbiomes. • Microbially-driven C and S metabolisms on plastisphere were more significantly distinct from the other habitats. • Organic N assimilation and thiosulfate disproportionation were major but previously overlooked pathways on plastisphere. • Silicimonas and Erythrobacter were keystone taxa driving the coupled cycling of C, N and S on plastisphere. • Plastisphere potentially elevated risks of CO 2 /N 2 O emissions, H 2 S accumulation and eutrophication. Seagrass meadow, a crucial blue carbon ecosystem, is increasingly threatened by plastic pollution. Plastic debris in this sensitive ecosystem creates a new microbial habitat known as “plastisphere”. However, the functional role of plastisphere, particularly in driving the cycling of key biogenic elements, remains poorly understood. This knowledge gap raises concerns over potential disruptions to elemental fluxes and subsequent ecological consequences. Here, metagenomic analysis was employed to investigate the metabolic profile of in-situ plastisphere in seagrass meadow, with particular focus on carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) biotransformation. The obtained results revealed that plastisphere microbes were taxonomically distinct from those in natural environments of the seagrass meadow, and these inhabitants were capable of driving diverse metabolic pathways. However, >75% functional gene similarity indicated a significant functional overlap between the plastisphere and natural environments. This niche enriched genes related to heterotrophic organic C degradation (27.71% ± 3.28%) and oxidation (17.86% ± 2.04%) pathways, organic N metabolism (62.18% ± 8.57%) mainly through GS-GOGAT pathways and denitrification (8.70% ± 4.06%), polyphosphate degradation (22.89% ± 2.20%) and organic P mineralization (17.50% ± 1.70%), as well as assimilatory/ dissimilatory sulfate reduction (30.60% ± 3.49%) and thiosulfate disproportionation (13.57% ± 2.89%) metabolic pathways. Metabolic linkage within seagrass plastisphere was facilitated by highly connected taxa including Silicimonas and Erythrobacter , which linked electron-donating processes (including organic C degradation and S oxidation) to electron-accepting pathways ( e.g. , sulfate/nitrate reduction, C fixation). These interactions established the plastisphere as a potential biogeochemical hotspot, potentially amplifying the risks of CO 2 /N 2 O emission, H 2 S accumulation, nutrient competition with seagrass and potential eutrophication from imbalanced P mobilization, ultimately threatening the health and stability of seagrass ecosystem.
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Plastisphere provides a unique ecological niche for microorganisms in Zostera marina seagrass meadows
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Researchers incubated three types of microplastics in a seagrass meadow for one month and found that microbial communities on plastic surfaces differed significantly from those on natural substrates. Microplastic invasion shifted carbon- and nitrogen-fixing microbes and related genes, potentially affecting the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrass ecosystems. The study also raises concerns about antibiotic resistance genes accumulating on microplastic surfaces in these environments.
Plastiome in seagrass meadows: higher health risk of plastisphere beneath leaf canopy than that in root sediment
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Researchers placed microplastics in seagrass meadows and compared microbial communities growing on plastic near leaves versus near roots. Microplastics near leaves carried more harmful bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes and disease-related genes, including genes for multidrug resistance, than those near roots, with traits linked to dense biofilms and bacterial activity.
Microplastics drive the reconfiguration of microbial sulfur cycling pathways in seagrass bed sediments
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Researchers used a 112-day microcosm experiment to show that three common microplastics — PLA, PE, and PS — each distinctly rewire sulfur-cycling microbial communities in seagrass sediments, shifting metabolism from biosynthetic toward dissimilatory energy-generating pathways and amplifying sulfide stress in ways that could undermine carbon burial and ecosystem resilience.
Metagenomic insight into the ecological effects of the plastisphere in coastal salt marshes
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Microplastics in coastal salt marshes don't just sit there — they create a distinct microbial habitat called the "plastisphere" that alters the way nutrients cycle through these carbon-rich ecosystems. A year-long field study in China found that plastisphere microbes showed different patterns of nitrogen and sulfur cycling depending on whether they were in tidal or upland zones, and that antibiotic resistance genes were enriched on plastic surfaces throughout. These findings suggest that microplastic pollution in salt marshes — critical ecosystems for carbon storage and coastal protection — may be quietly reshaping the microbial processes that keep them functioning.
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