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Microplastic biofilms as potential hotspots for plastic biodegradation and nitrogen cycling: a metagenomic perspective
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Researchers used genetic analysis to study the microbial communities that form biofilms on different types of microplastics in an estuarine environment. They found that these plastic-associated communities contained genes for both plastic degradation and nitrogen cycling, suggesting the biofilms may play dual roles in the ecosystem. The study indicates that microplastic surfaces in waterways create unique microbial habitats that could influence both pollution breakdown and nutrient processing.
Microplastics are an emerging contaminant worldwide, with the potential to impact organisms and facilitate the sorption and release of chemicals. Additionally, they create a novel habitat for microbial communities, forming biofilms known as the plastisphere. While the plastisphere has been studied in select aquatic environments, those in estuarine ecosystems merit additional attention due to their proximity to plastic debris sources. Additionally, the role plastisphere communities play in nutrient cycling has rarely been examined. This study used metagenomic analysis to investigate the taxonomic composition and functional genes of developing plastisphere communities living on petroleum-based (polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) and biopolymer-based (polylactic acid) substrates. Isolated metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) showed plastisphere communities have the genes necessary to perform nitrification and denitrification and degrade petroleum and biopolymer-based plastics. The functions of these plastispheres have implications for estuarine nitrogen cycling and provide a possible explanation for the plastisphere microbes' competitiveness in biofilm environments. Overall, microplastics in the estuarine system provide a novel habitat for microbial communities and associated nitrogen cycling, facilitating the growth of microbes with plastic-degrading capabilities.
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Unveiling microplastic's role in nitrogen cycling: Metagenomic insights from estuarine sediment microcosms
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Researchers used metagenomic analysis to examine how polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics affect nitrogen cycling in estuarine sediments. They found that microplastics altered the abundance of genes involved in key nitrogen transformation processes like nitrification and denitrification. The study reveals that microplastic pollution in estuaries may disrupt important biogeochemical cycles that support aquatic ecosystem health.
Biofilms in plastisphere from freshwater wetlands: Biofilm formation, bacterial community assembly, and biogeochemical cycles
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Researchers studied how bacteria form biofilms on microplastic surfaces in freshwater wetlands and found that these plastic-associated communities differ significantly from natural soil bacteria. The microplastic biofilms had lower diversity but higher activity in carbon processing and nitrogen cycling genes. This means microplastics in wetlands can alter natural nutrient cycles, potentially affecting water quality in ecosystems that many communities rely on.
Estuarine Microbiomes And Biogeochemistry: Impacts Of Spatiotemporal Variation, Algal Blooms, And Microplastics
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Researchers investigated how microplastics affect the microbial communities in an estuary (a coastal mixing zone of fresh and salt water), finding that polyethylene, PVC, and biodegradable plastic particles all developed biofilms harboring bacteria capable of nitrogen cycling and hydrocarbon breakdown, suggesting microplastics create new ecological niches that could alter nutrient flows in coastal ecosystems.
Evaluation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities on microplastic‐associated biofilms in marine and freshwater environments
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Researchers analyzed microbial biofilm communities on microplastic surfaces in both marine and freshwater environments, finding that plastic-associated biofilms harbor distinct prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities with potential roles in plastic biodegradation.
Microbial consortiums of putative degraders of low-density polyethylene-associated compounds in the ocean
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Researchers used metagenomics to identify microbial communities forming biofilms on polyethylene plastic in the ocean. The study found taxonomically diverse consortia that may contain organisms with polyethylene biodegradation potential, advancing understanding of the ocean plastisphere.
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