We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
A domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system for analyzing the influence of plastic surfaces on invertebrate grazers in limnic environments
Summary
Researchers developed a domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system to analyse how plastic surfaces influence invertebrate grazers in freshwater environments. The study found that biofilms growing on plastic substrates affected grazer behaviour and feeding differently than biofilms on natural surfaces, with implications for understanding how plastic pollution disrupts limnic food web interactions.
The environmental fate of plastic particles in water bodies is influenced by microbial biofilm formation. Invertebrate grazers may be affected when foraging biofilms on plastics compared to biofilms on natural substrata but the mechanistic basis for these effects is unknown. For analyzing these effects in ecotoxicological assays stable and reproducible biofilm communities are required that are related to the environmental site of interest. Here, a defined biofilm community was established and used to perform grazing experiments with a freshwater snail. For this, snippets of different plastic materials were incubated in the photic zone of three different freshwater sites. Amplicon sequencing of biofilms formed on these snippets showed that the site of incubation and not the plastic material dominated the microbial community composition. From these biofilms, individual microbial strains as well as photoautotrophic consortia were isolated; these consortia consisted of heterotrophic bacteria that were apparently nourished by microalga. While biofilms formed by defined dual cultures of a microalga and an Alphaproteobacterium were not accepted by the snail P. fontinalis, a photoautotrophic consortium (Co_3) sustained growth and metabolism of this grazer. Amplicon sequencing revealed that consortium Co_3, which could be stably maintained on solid medium under photoautotrophic conditions, reproducibly formed biofilms of a defined composition on three different plastic materials and on glass surfaces. In conclusion, our study shows that the generation of domesticated photoautotrophic microbial communities is a valid novel approach for establishing laboratory ecotoxicological assays with higher environmental relevance than those based on defined microbiota.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Plastic habitats: Algal biofilms on photic and aphotic plastics
Researchers tracked algae colonizing plastic surfaces in a freshwater reservoir over six weeks, finding that different plastic types developed distinct algae communities and that plastic surfaces showed early signs of degradation — suggesting that biofouling may accelerate microplastic fragmentation in freshwater systems.
Environmental conditions affect the food quality of plastic associated biofilms for the benthic grazer Physa fontinalis
Researchers grew natural biofilms on PE, PET, and polystyrene plastics in a freshwater stream across winter and spring seasons and fed them to a grazing snail, finding that PE and PET supported lower-quality biofilms with reduced algal growth under cold, low-light winter conditions — an effect masked by favorable spring conditions.
Microbial biofilm formation and community structure on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms
Researchers investigated biofilm formation on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms, finding that microplastic surfaces supported distinct and dynamic microbial communities that differed from those in the surrounding water.
The Effect of Microplastics on Microbial Succession at Impaired and Unimpaired Sites in a Riverine System
Researchers compared microbial biofilm diversity on microplastic polymers and natural substrates at impaired and unimpaired riverine sites, examining how environmental nutrient loads, seasonality, and geography influence microbiome succession on plastic surfaces in freshwater ecosystems.
Fate and effects of microplastic particles in a periphyton-grazer system
This study examined how microplastic particles interact with periphyton, the biofilm communities coating underwater surfaces, and whether plastics transfer to grazing snails that feed on them. Researchers found that microplastics accumulated in periphyton and were then consumed by the freshwater snail Physa acuta, demonstrating a pathway for plastics to move through the aquatic food web from biofilms to animals.