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Comparative analysis of the microbial plastisphere at three sites along the Sarno river (Italy)
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Sampling along the heavily polluted Sarno River in Italy — one of Europe's most contaminated waterways — found that microplastics and their associated bacterial communities (the plastisphere) change substantially between the river, estuary, and coastal marine zone. The estuarine station showed extremely high microplastic concentrations, and the microbial community analysis revealed that plastic-attached bacteria are well-suited to colonizing new environments as they travel downstream, raising concerns about microplastics serving as rafts for potentially pathogenic or invasive microorganisms.
This study investigated microplastics (MP) and their associated microbial plastisphere in the Sarno river (Italy), its estuary and in the nearby coastal area in January 2020. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) and Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the collected MPs and their associated microbes. The three stations sampled differed substantially for MP concentrations and microbial communities, with the estuarine station showing very high MP concentrations (2048.6 MP m), highlighting the threat represented by the river for the coastal marine area and its ecosystem. The prokaryotic plastisphere showed differences between the three stations sampled, in terms of community composition, with only 75 Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV) in common. The Comamonadaceae was the most abundant family in MP-attached and freshwater communities, and this lifestyle seems to be pivotal in the colonization of new habitats while flowing towards the sea. The results highlight the importance of the plastisphere in colonization of new habitats and support the need of correct management and risk mitigation efforts.
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A Pan-European study of the bacterial plastisphere diversity along river-to-sea continuums
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Researchers conducted a large-scale study of bacterial communities living on microplastic surfaces along river-to-sea pathways in nine major European rivers during the Tara Microplastics mission. They found that microplastics can transport freshwater bacteria into marine environments, representing a potential dispersal mechanism for microorganisms across ecosystems. The study highlights that the plastisphere community composition shifts along the river-sea continuum.
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Researchers sampled 107 plastic pieces across four aquatic ecosystems in southern France and found that the sampling location and polymer chemistry were the strongest drivers of plastisphere microbial community composition, while only 11% of samples showed elevated Vibrio pathogen levels compared to surrounding water.
Study of the plastisphere: biofilm development and presence of faecal indicator bacteria on microplastics from the Río de la Plata estuary
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Researchers in Argentina examined microplastic-colonizing biofilms from the Rio de la Plata estuary, finding diverse microbial communities including fecal indicator bacteria on the plastic surfaces. This shows that microplastics can act as reservoirs for potentially pathogenic microorganisms in estuarine environments.
Direct Evidence of Microplastic-Mediated Microbial Migration Across the River-Sea Transition via a Novel Field-Laboratory Coupled Approach
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Microplastics floating down rivers into the ocean carry a coating of bacteria—the 'plastisphere'—but whether these microbial hitchhikers actually alter marine microbial communities upon arrival was unclear. This study combined field incubation in freshwater and lab simulation of the river-sea transition, finding that long-incubated plastispheres (140 days) rapidly disrupted marine microbial community structure within days of contact, while freshly formed biofilms had minimal effect. The finding suggests that microplastics traveling long distances from inland sources may be more ecologically disruptive to coastal marine ecosystems than locally produced plastic debris, because older biofilms carry established microbial communities that can outcompete native marine microbes.
Longitudinal patterns of microplastic concentration and bacterial assemblages in surface and benthic habitats of an urban river
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This study measured microplastic concentrations and microbial communities in a river from source to mouth, finding that both plastic levels and unique plastisphere bacterial communities increased downstream of wastewater treatment plant outflows. The results identify wastewater discharge as a key driver of both microplastic loading and microbial community shifts in rivers.
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