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Microplastics impair seabird gut microbiomes
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A study of two seabird species found that microplastic ingestion significantly disrupts their gastrointestinal microbiomes, reducing microbial diversity and altering community composition in ways that may compromise immune function and digestion. These findings in wildlife mirror emerging concerns about microplastic effects on the human gut microbiome, where similar disruption could have broad implications for immune health and metabolic function.
In this study, Fackelmann et al. show that microplastics impair the gastrointestinal microbiome of two seabird species.
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Microplastics in Biota
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Microplastics have been detected in biota across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, demonstrating their ability to enter food webs at multiple trophic levels. Their omnipresence in living organisms raises concerns about bioaccumulation of both the plastic particles and the chemical additives and adsorbed pollutants they carry.
Microplastics in Biota
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Researchers summarized evidence that microplastics have infiltrated living organisms across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, posing a broad threat to biodiversity. Their persistence in biological tissues means they can accumulate up the food chain, ultimately reaching humans through diet.
Gut microbiome alterations associated with microplastics: Underestimated risk from tiny particle
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This review pulls together existing research showing that tiny plastic particles, found in our food, water, and even air, can disrupt the balance of bacteria living in our gut, and this disruption has been linked to problems ranging from digestive diseases to effects on the brain, liver, and reproductive system in animal studies. The catch: scientists still struggle to accurately detect and measure these particles in the body, meaning our real-world exposure and its health effects are likely underestimated. Bottom line, microplastics may be quietly messing with your gut health in ways we're only beginning to understand and measure.
Microplastic research must consider microbes
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Researchers argue that microplastic pollution studies have largely overlooked the gut microbiome, calling for urgent research into how ingested and inhaled microplastics disrupt microbial communities and what downstream consequences that may have for host and ecosystem health.
Microbial Relationship of Marine Microplastics
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Researchers examined how microplastics in the ocean interact with microbial communities, finding that plastic surfaces attract and harbor unique assemblages of bacteria — a concern because these 'plastisphere' microbes can spread pathogens and antibiotic-resistant genes through marine food chains.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.