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[Research Progress on the Current Situation of Microplastic Pollution in the Ocean and Its Microbial Degradation].
Summary
Tiny plastic particles in the ocean can travel up the food chain into the seafood we eat, and they often carry hitchhiking bacteria—including some that resist antibiotics—making the problem potentially riskier than the plastic alone. This review paper rounds up what scientists currently know about where ocean microplastics come from, how they spread, and how certain microbes might be able to break them down, while noting that much more research is still needed before we fully understand the health risks or have reliable cleanup solutions.
Marine microplastic pollution has become one of the global ecological and environmental issues, posing potential threats to marine ecosystems, marine organisms, and human health. Microplastics not only destroy the habitats of marine organisms but may also introduce invasive species, disrupt biodiversity, and impact human health through food chain transmission and bioaccumulation. In addition, microorganisms can colonize the surface of microplastics to form biofilms and act as vectors for the long-distance transport of antibiotic resistance genes, pathogens, and other pollutants, thereby further aggravating the environmental risks of microplastics. This paper reviews the environmental processes such as pollution sources, distribution characteristics, migration, and transport of microplastics in the marine environment, as well as their influencing factors. It analyzes and discusses the potential impacts and ecological risks of microplastics on marine ecosystems and marine organisms. Additionally, it integrates the research progress on the degradation of microplastics by microbial communities and the ecological risks associated with the intermediate products of degradation. At present, the research on the microbial degradation of marine microplastics is not comprehensive. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring and tracing of microplastics, deeply explore the microbial degradation mechanisms and application potentials, and provide a theoretical basis for the management and governance of marine ecosystems in China.