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Impacts of Pharmaceuticals on Microbial Colonization of Microplastic in Streams
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This study examined how pharmaceutical contaminants in streams affect microbial communities that colonize microplastics. Pharmaceutical-exposed microplastics developed distinctly different microbial communities than unexposed ones, suggesting that the combined presence of microplastics and pharmaceuticals creates novel ecological conditions in urban waterways.
Microplastic and pharmaceuticals are common contaminants in urban streams, both interacting with stream biota including microbial communities. Previous studies have assessed the effects of these contaminants on microbial communities individually, but microplastics can adsorb pharmaceuticals from aquatic environments, with unknown impacts on microbes. It was predicted that microplastics exposed to pharmaceuticals would have different microbial communities relative to those on microplastic alone. This hypothesis was tested in mesocosms containing stream water and biofilm-colonized rocks, amended with microplastic with and without a mixture of 16 pharmaceuticals. After 5- and 10-days exposure, microbial communities colonizing microplastic were analyzed by amplicon sequencing.
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Potential Interactions Between Pharmaceuticals and Microbial Biofilms on Microplastic Surfaces
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Researchers exposed polyester fiber microplastics to seven pharmaceuticals in laboratory stream mesocosms and confirmed via HPLC that all compounds adsorbed onto the plastic surface, but found that pharmaceutical exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations did not meaningfully alter bacterial or algal biofilm communities over 15 days.
Interactions between Microplastics, Biofilms, and Antimicrobials in Freshwater Streams
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This research investigated how microplastics interact with antimicrobial compounds and microbial biofilms in freshwater streams. The study hypothesized that antimicrobials adsorbed onto microplastic surfaces would alter the diversity, composition, and antimicrobial resistance of colonizing microbial communities, examining multiple polymer types including acrylic and nylon in microcosm experiments.
Microbial composition on microplastics mediated by stream impairment
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This study compared the microbial communities living on microplastics collected from streams with different levels of water quality impairment, finding that poorer water quality was associated with distinct biofilm compositions on the plastic surfaces. Streams with greater impairment harbored different — and potentially more harmful — communities of microorganisms on the microplastics they carried. The findings suggest that microplastics in degraded waterways may act as vectors for spreading pollution-adapted or pathogenic microbes downstream.
Pharmaceutical transforming microbes from wastewater and natural environments can colonize microplastics
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Researchers found that pharmaceutical-transforming bacteria from wastewater and natural environments can colonize microplastic bead surfaces and degrade the pharmaceutical naproxen. This shows microplastics can serve as substrates that concentrate pharmaceutical-degrading microorganisms in waterways.
Anthropogenic Litter in Urban Freshwater Ecosystems: Distribution and Microbial Interactions
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Researchers quantified anthropogenic litter in urban rivers and streams and found that microplastics dominated by mass and particle count compared to macroplastic items. The study highlights urban freshwater systems as major conduits for plastic pollution moving toward marine environments and documents distinct microbial communities on plastic surfaces.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.