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Microplastic biofilm in fresh- and wastewater as a function of microparticle type and size class
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Researchers compared the biofilm communities that form on microplastics of different types and sizes in both freshwater and wastewater, finding that biofilm composition was influenced by particle type, size, and water source. These findings advance understanding of the plastisphere — the microbial community unique to plastic surfaces — and its potential role in spreading microorganism-associated risks.
Microplastics are pollutants of concern in the freshwater and marine environments. These microparticles carry biofilm communities unique from the surrounding water.
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Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments
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This review compared microplastic-associated biofilm communities in freshwater and marine environments, examining how plastic type, ecosystem, and environmental conditions shape the microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces. Understanding these "plastisphere" communities is important because they may include pathogens and can affect the fate and transport of plastic particles.
Microplastics and water microbiota
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This review examines the interactions between microplastics and aquatic microbiota, summarizing recent research on the composition of the plastisphere community that colonizes plastic surfaces in marine and freshwater environments. Researchers discuss which microorganisms dominate plastic biofilms and how plastisphere communities differ from free-living microbial assemblages. The paper contributes to understanding how microplastic pollution reshapes microbial ecology in aquatic systems.
Biofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.
The ecology of the plastisphere: Microbial composition, function, assembly, and network in the freshwater and seawater ecosystems
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Researchers studied the communities of bacteria and fungi that colonize microplastic surfaces in freshwater and seawater, forming what scientists call the plastisphere. These microplastic-associated communities were distinctly different from those in surrounding water, and included a higher proportion of disease-causing organisms and species involved in pollutant degradation. The findings suggest that microplastics create new habitats that can harbor pathogens and alter natural microbial ecosystems in ways that may affect water quality and human health.
Structural Diversity in Early-Stage Biofilm Formation on Microplastics Depends on Environmental Medium and Polymer Properties
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This study examined the early stages of bacterial biofilm formation on different types of plastic surfaces in different environmental media, finding that both the growth medium and the polymer type influenced which microbial communities colonized the plastic. These plastic-associated biofilms (the plastisphere) can make microplastics more appealing to filter-feeding organisms that mistake them for food.
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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.