“Tire plastisphere” in aquatic ecosystems: Biofilms colonizing on tire particles exhibiting a distinct community structure and assembly compared to conventional plastisphere

Tire particles (TPs) significantly contribute to microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, which has recently attracted ecological concerns worldwide. Numerous studies have shown that biofilms on microplastics harbor unique species and harmful functions, but it remains unclear whether TPs could offer distinct niches for biofilms compared to conventional microplastics (CP). This study investigated the succession and assembly of biofilms on TPs compared with CP over 60 days. Our results showed the community structures of biofilms on TPs and CP were distinct. Intriguingly, a greater structural dissimilarity was observed between TPs-associated communities and natural biofilms compared to that between CP-associated communities and natural biofilms. This dissimilarity became more pronounced as biofilms progressed through succession. Furthermore, the bacterial community on the TPs exhibits a network of greater complexity, more stable structure, and higher activity than that on the CP, but the pattern was reversed in the eukaryotic community. Deterministic processes had a more critical impact on bacterial communities on TPs, whereas distinct stochastic processes controlled eukaryotic communities on TPs (dispersal limitation) and CP (undominated processes). Altogether, this study tentatively introduced the term "tire plastisphere" (i.e., TP-attached biofilms), emphasizing TPs could serve as more artificial microbial habitats and pose potential risks in disturbing aquatic ecology.