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Editorial: Microplastics and microorganisms in the environment, volume II
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This editorial introduces the second volume of a special journal series on microplastics and microorganisms in the environment, covering how microbial communities interact with plastic particles. The collection reflects growing interest in the Plastisphere — the unique microbial communities that colonize plastic debris in the environment.
Citation: Liu X, Chen JP, Wang L, Shao Z, Xiao X and Wang J (2024) Editorial: Microplastics and microorganisms in the environment, volume II. Front. Microbiol. 15:1464294. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1464294
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Editorial: Microplastics and Microorganisms in the Environment
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This editorial introduces a Frontiers in Microbiology collection on the interactions between microplastics and microorganisms in environmental systems, covering how plastic particles affect microbial communities and how microbes in turn colonize and potentially degrade plastic surfaces. The collection reflects the growing recognition that microplastic pollution reshapes environmental microbiology.
Investigating the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces
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Researchers investigated the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces, examining how microbial communities interact with plastic polymers in environmental settings. The study characterized the 'plastisphere' — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces — and assessed the extent to which microbial activity contributes to plastic degradation in natural environments.
Microplastics as a New Ecological Niche For Multispecies Microbial Biofilms within the Plastisphere
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This review examines microplastics as a novel ecological niche — the 'plastisphere' — analyzing how multispecies microbial biofilms colonize plastic surfaces, differ from surrounding environmental communities, and may facilitate biodegradation and horizontal gene transfer.
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This book chapter examines the microbial communities that colonize waterborne plastic surfaces, forming the so-called plastisphere. The author discusses how microplastics serve as surfaces for biofilm formation and how plastic-associated microbes may differ from free-living communities in ways that have ecological implications.
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This commentary calls for dedicated research into the interactions between marine microorganisms and microplastics, arguing that microplastics may serve as novel substrates for microbial colonization, alter microbial community composition, and facilitate the transport of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in ocean environments. Researchers identify the microbial ecology of the 'plastisphere' as a critically understudied dimension of marine plastic pollution.
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