Microbial Reactions to Microplastics in Varying pH Conditions

Microplastic pollution has become an increasing issue within our rapidly developing world, particularly concerning its potential effects on both environmental and ecological populations. In collaboration with Dr. Sara Dick this study was done to examine the effects of microplastics on microbial populations from watershed and sand environments under pH 5 and pH 9 conditions. The soil samples were serial diluted to 10-5 to isolate individual colonies. Individual colonies were plated using a three streak method, incubated at 37℃ and allowed to grow. Colonies were removed from the plates and incubated in pH 5 and pH 9 agar tubes and exposed to microplastics. Growth was assessed through qualitative visual inspection and quantitative spectrophotometry. The results have indicated varied responses between different colonies and their respective conditions. Some showing inhibited growth in the presence of microplastics, particularly under the acidic conditions of pH 5. No evidence has been observed of potential microplastic degradation under any colony or condition. Future research will focus on statistical analysis on the growth patterns between conditions in order to determine statistical significance, as well as further diversification of microplastic types and different colonies to determine which microorganisms are particularly effected by microplastic pollution.