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Evidence for selective bacterial community structuring on microplastics

Environmental Microbiology 2018 358 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 45 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Elena Gorokhova Zandra Gerdes, Zandra Gerdes, Elena Gorokhova Asa Motiei, Asa Motiei, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Zandra Gerdes, Zandra Gerdes, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Zandra Gerdes, Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Asa Motiei, Asa Motiei, Zandra Gerdes, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Karolina Ininbergs, Karolina Ininbergs, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Zandra Gerdes, Zoltán Bacsik, Elena Gorokhova Éva Hell, Éva Hell, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Zandra Gerdes, Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Elena Gorokhova Klas I. Udekwu, Zandra Gerdes, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Asa Motiei, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Martin Ogonowski, Zoltán Bacsik, Elena Gorokhova Elena Gorokhova

Summary

Plastic substrates incubated in Baltic Sea water developed distinct bacterial communities that differed significantly from those on glass surfaces and from the surrounding water, with some plastic-colonizing taxa selected for regardless of polymer type. The study provides experimental evidence that plastic surfaces act as selective filters for microbial community assembly, contributing to the concept of a unique plastisphere.

Polymers

PE PP PS

In aquatic ecosystems, microplastics are a relatively new anthropogenic substrate that can readily be colonized by biofilm-forming organisms. To examine the effects of substrate type on microbial community assembly, we exposed ambient Baltic bacterioplankton to plastic substrates commonly found in marine environments (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) as well as native (cellulose) and inert (glass beads) particles for 2 weeks under controlled conditions. The source microbial communities and those of the biofilms were analyzed by Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene libraries. All biofilm communities displayed lower diversity and evenness compared with the source community, suggesting substrate-driven selection. Moreover, the plastics-associated communities were distinctly different from those on the non-plastic substrates. Whereas plastics hosted greater than twofold higher abundance of Burkholderiales, the non-plastic substrates had a significantly higher proportion of Actinobacteria and Cytophagia. Variation in the community structure, but not the cell abundance, across the treatments was strongly linked to the substrate hydrophobicity. Thus, microplastics host distinct bacterial communities, at least during early successional stages.

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