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The attachment rate of Vibrio anguillarum to microplastics strongly varies with strain identity, particle characteristics, and environmental conditions.
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Researchers tested how readily a fish bacteria called Vibrio anguillarum attached to three types of microplastics in lab conditions. Attachment rates varied significantly depending on the bacterial strain tested, the type and surface texture of the plastic particles, and whether a natural biofilm had already formed on the particles.
Microplastics (MPs), resulting from plastic objects and waste degradation, are increasingly abundant, particularly in marine environments. They exhibit a hydrophobic surface on which biofilms form easily. Metagenomic analyses of these biofilms have revealed that they often contain bacterial species potentially pathogenic to humans or animals. For this reason, MPs are suspected to present a risk to public health by acting as a vector for pathogenic bacterial species. To better understand this hazard, we studied different factors potentially affecting the bacterial attachment rate to MPs. Focusing on the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum, a collection of 16 GFP-labeled strains was assembled, including isolates from infected fish. Their attachment rates were measured using fluorescence microscopy on three types of MPs (milled polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate particles, and commercially available polystyrene beads). A strong effect of the particle type was found, with higher attachment rates on milled particles, whose surface appeared qualitatively rougher based on visual examination of scanning electron microscopy images. Our results also revealed an intraspecific variation in attachment rate, highlighting the need for testing several strains of the same species to assess attachment rate and related hazards. Finally, it was observed that when a biofilm had formed by field incubation of the MPs, the differences in attachment rates between particle types were erased. The attachment of V. anguillarum depends on a combination of strain-related factors, particle characteristics, and environmental conditions, highlighting the need to combine microbiology, materials science, and environmental sciences to achieve a comprehensive risk assessment associated with MPs.IMPORTANCEMicroplastics (MPs) are increasingly abundant, particularly in marine environments. They are suspected to present a risk to public health by acting as a vector for pathogenic bacterial species. Focusing on the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum, we measured the attachment rates of 16 strains on three types of microplastics (milled polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate particles, and commercially available polystyrene beads). This study highlights a strong effect of the particle type, with higher attachment rates on irregular particles, as well as a strong intraspecific variation. In a second experiment, it was observed that when a natural marine biofilm had already formed on the microplastic particles, differences in attachment rates between particle types were erased. Our findings emphasize the importance of accounting for multiple factors when assessing the risks of MPs as carriers of pathogenic bacteria, with our study addressing the first step of the conceptual pathway linking attachment, persistence, transport, exposure, and ultimately infection.
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The attachment rate of Vibrio anguillarum strains to microplastics strongly varies with abiotic and biotic factors
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Researchers studied how different factors affect the attachment of the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum to microplastics in marine environments. They found that bacterial attachment rates varied significantly depending on the plastic type, bacterial strain, and environmental conditions such as temperature and salinity. The findings suggest that microplastics could serve as vectors for pathogenic bacteria, though the risk depends on specific environmental and biological factors.
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