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Gut microbiota, a key to understanding the knowledge gaps on micro-nanoplastics-related biological effects and biodegradation
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This review explores how micro- and nanoplastics affect the community of microorganisms living in the gut, and how those same gut microbes might be able to break down plastic particles. Swallowed microplastics can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria, potentially leading to various diseases. On the other hand, some gut bacteria can actually degrade plastics into smaller, less harmful molecules, opening a possible avenue for biological cleanup.
Micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) pollution as a global environmental issue has received increasing interest in recent years. MNPs can enter and accumulate in the organisms including human beings mainly via ingestion and inhalation, and large amounts of foodborne MNPs have been frequently detected in human intestinal tracts and fecal samples. MNPs regulate the structure composition and metabolic functions of gut microbiota, which may cause the imbalance of intestinal ecosystems of the hosts and further mediate the occurrence and development of various diseases. In addition, a growing number of MNPs-degrading strains have been isolated from organismal feces. MNPs-degraders colonize the plastic surfaces and form the biofilms, and the long-chain polymers of MNPs can be biologically depolymerized into short chains. In general, MNPs are gradually degraded into small molecule substances (e.g., N, CH, HO, and CO) via a series of enzymatic catalyses, mainly including biodeterioration, fragmentation, assimilation, and mineralization. In this review, we outline the current progress of MNPs effects on gut microbiota and MNPs degradation by gut microbiota, which provide a certain theoretical basis for fully understanding the knowledge gaps on MNPs-related biological effect and biodegradation.
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