The Eukaryotic Life on Microplastics in Brackish Ecosystems
Frontiers in Microbiology2019
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Researchers investigated the eukaryotic organisms that colonize microplastic surfaces in brackish waters of the Baltic Sea region using genetic sequencing. They found more than 500 different taxa on microplastic surfaces, but the communities were distinct from those on natural wood surfaces or in surrounding water, with lower overall diversity. Notably, the potentially harmful dinoflagellate Pfiesteria was enriched on microplastic surfaces, suggesting that plastic debris could serve as a vehicle for spreading harmful organisms in aquatic ecosystems.
Microplastics (MP) constitute a widespread contaminant all over the globe. Rivers and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) transport annually several million tons of MP into freshwaters, estuaries and oceans, where they provide increasing artificial surfaces for microbial colonization. As knowledge on MP-attached communities is insufficient for brackish ecosystems, we conducted exposure experiments in the coastal Baltic Sea, an in-flowing river and a WWTP within the drainage basin. While reporting on prokaryotic and fungal communities from the same set-up previously, we focus here on the entire eukaryotic communities. Using high-throughput 18S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyzed the eukaryotes colonizing on two types of MP, polyethylene and polystyrene, and compared them to the ones in the surrounding water and on a natural surface (wood). More than 500 different taxa across almost all kingdoms of the eukaryotic tree of life were identified on MP, dominated by Alveolata, Metazoa, and Chloroplastida. The eukaryotic community composition on MP was significantly distinct from wood and the surrounding water, with overall lower diversity and the potentially harmful dinoflagellate <i>Pfiesteria</i> being enriched on MP. Co-occurrence networks, which include prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa, hint at possibilities for dynamic microbial interactions on MP. This first report on total eukaryotic communities on MP in brackish environments highlights the complexity of MP-associated biofilms, potentially leading to altered microbial activities and hence changes in ecosystem functions.