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Microplastic aging and plastisphere succession in mangrove sediments: Mechanisms, microbial interactions, and degradation potential
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Microplastic aging processes and the succession of microbial communities (plastisphere) in mangrove sediments were tracked over time, revealing how the plastic surface microbiome changes as particles weather. Understanding plastisphere dynamics in coastal ecosystems is important for assessing how microplastics interact with and potentially disrupt mangrove ecology.
The unique alternating aerobic-anaerobic conditions in mangrove sediments create hotspots for microplastic (MP) aging. We systematically investigated the aging characteristics of conventional MPs (CMPs: mPP and mPE) and biodegradable MPs (BMPs: mPLA and mPBAT) and spatiotemporal successions of plastisphere communities (in three mangrove regions over 1, 3, and 6 months). The results showed that MP aging increased with plastisphere succession, and aging severity followed the order: mPLA > mPBAT > mPP > mPE. Crucially, BMPs exhibited higher risks of heavy metal leaching and secondary MP release. Geographic location was the primary driver of microbial community structure, followed by MP type and time. Network analysis revealed that alternating aerobic-anaerobic conditions promoted positive microbial correlations. CMP communities were more sensitive to organic carbon than BMPs. BMPs were more prone to be utilized as carbon sources by microbes, thereby accelerating their aging. Plastisphere microbiomes enriched potential MP-degrading taxa (e.g., Alcanivorax, Ketobacter, Halomonas, Desulfovibrio, Desulfobulbus) and displayed higher hydrocarbon degradation potential than sediments. Potential MP-degrading taxa resembled hydrocarbon degraders. Anaerobic MP-degraders correlated more strongly with aging indicators than aerobic MP-degraders, particularly on BMPs. Partial least squares path model (PLS-PM) showed that biotic factors were positively correlated with MP aging. MP aging was jointly controlled by biotic and abiotic factors.
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