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Effect of microplastics on microbial dechlorination of a polychlorinated biphenyl mixture (Aroclor 1260)
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Researchers found that microplastics inhibited microbial anaerobic dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1260), with polyethylene causing the greatest inhibition at nearly 40%, suggesting microplastics may impede natural bioremediation of PCB-contaminated environments.
Microplastics (MPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) generally coexist in the environment, posing risks to public health and the environment. This study investigated the effect of different MPs on the microbial anaerobic reductive dechlorination of Aroclor 1260, a commercial PCB mixture. MP exposure inhibited microbial reductive dechlorination of PCBs, with inhibition rates of 39.43%, 23.97%, and 17.53% by polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), respectively. The dechlorination rate decreased from 1.63 μM Cl d to 0.99-1.34 μM Cl d after MP amendment. Chlorine removal in the meta-position of PCBs was primarily inhibited by MPs, with no changes in the final PCB dechlorination metabolites. The microbial community compositions in MP biofilms were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from those in suspension culture, although possessing greater Dehalococcoides abundance (0.52-0.81% in MP biofilms; 0.03-0.12% in suspension culture). The co-occurrence network analysis revealed that the presence of MPs attenuated microbial synergistic interactions in the dechlorinating culture systems, which may contribute to the inhibitory effect on microbial PCB dechlorination. These findings are important for comprehensively understanding microbial dechlorination behavior and the environmental fate of PCBs in environments with co-existing PCBs and MPs and for guiding the application of in situ PCB bioremediation.
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Researchers found that microplastics generally enhanced microbial reductive dehalogenation of organohalide pollutants by 10-217%, while nanoplastics consistently inhibited it by increasing reactive oxygen species, revealing size-dependent effects on pollutant biotransformation in contaminated environments.
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Microplastics were found to significantly inhibit microbial reductive dehalogenation of chlorophenols in anaerobic marine sediments, disrupting a natural detoxification process and potentially causing toxic compounds to persist longer in marine environments.
Bacterial colonization dynamics of different microplastic types in an anoxic salt marsh sediment and impact of adsorbed polychlorinated biphenyls on the plastisphere
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Researchers tracked bacterial colonization on different microplastic types in anoxic salt marsh sediment over one year, finding that PVC recruited distinct sulfate-reducing bacterial communities and that PCB-contaminated plastics failed to stimulate actual dechlorination.
Effects of microplastic sorption on microbial degradation of halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water
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Researchers investigated how microplastics act as carriers for halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs) in water and whether this sorption affects microbial degradation of these dioxin-like compounds. They found that microplastic-sorbed HPAHs had reduced bioavailability to degrading bacteria, potentially slowing natural breakdown of these toxic pollutants.
Microbial colonization of different microplastic types and biotransformation of sorbed PCBs by a marine anaerobic bacterial community
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Different types of microplastic pellets (PE, PET, PS, PP, PVC) were introduced into anaerobic marine sediment microcosms and all were rapidly colonized by organohalide-respiring bacteria within 2 weeks, with PVC attracting the greatest biofilm growth. Importantly, the bacterial community biotransformed PCBs sorbed on the microplastics, suggesting a potential biodegradation route for plastic-associated pollutants.
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