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Microplastics alter composition of fungal communities in aquatic ecosystems
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This study examined how microplastics affect fungal communities in rivers, the Baltic Sea, and a wastewater treatment plant, finding that plastics altered fungal diversity and community composition. The results suggest microplastics can disrupt aquatic fungal ecology, with potential downstream effects on nutrient cycling and ecosystem function.
Despite increasing concerns about microplastic (MP) pollution in aquatic ecosystems, there is insufficient knowledge on how MP affect fungal communities. In this study, we explored the diversity and community composition of fungi attached to polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) particles incubated in different aquatic systems in north-east Germany: the Baltic Sea, the River Warnow and a wastewater treatment plant. Based on next generation 18S rRNA gene sequencing, 347 different operational taxonomic units assigned to 81 fungal taxa were identified on PE and PS. The MP-associated communities were distinct from fungal communities in the surrounding water and on the natural substrate wood. They also differed significantly among sampling locations, pointing towards a substrate and location specific fungal colonization. Members of Chytridiomycota, Cryptomycota and Ascomycota dominated the fungal assemblages, suggesting that both parasitic and saprophytic fungi thrive in MP biofilms. Thus, considering the worldwide increasing accumulation of plastic particles as well as the substantial vector potential of MP, especially these fungal taxa might benefit from MP pollution in the aquatic environment with yet unknown impacts on their worldwide distribution, as well as biodiversity and food web dynamics at large.
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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.
Microplastic effects in aquatic ecosystems with special reference to fungi–zooplankton interaction: identification of knowledge gaps and prioritization of research needs
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This review identifies a largely unexplored gap in microplastic research: how plastic pollution affects aquatic fungi and their interactions with zooplankton. Because fungi play critical roles in breaking down dead organic matter and serving as food for zooplankton, disruptions caused by microplastics — which can physically resemble fungal spores in size — could have cascading effects on freshwater food webs and nutrient cycling. The authors call for targeted experiments to fill this knowledge gap and better predict ecosystem-level impacts of microplastic contamination.
Bacterial and fungal assemblages and functions associated with biofilms differ between diverse types of plastic debris in a freshwater system
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Researchers characterised bacterial and fungal assemblages on three types of plastic debris in a freshwater urban river system, finding that microbial communities on plastics differ from those in surrounding water. High-throughput sequencing revealed that alpha diversity of bacterial communities was higher on polyethylene microplastics than on other plastic types, with intraspecies interactions between bacteria and fungi differing across diverse plastic substrates.
Distinct microbial communities in the microplastisphere of inland wetlands: Diversity, composition, co-occurrence networks, and functions.
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Researchers collected samples from different inland wetland types to characterize the microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces (the microplastisphere), finding distinct bacterial and fungal communities compared to surrounding soils. Community composition varied by wetland type and plastic surface, highlighting the ecological diversity of plastic-associated microbiomes in freshwater habitats.
Microbial hitchhikers on microplastics: The exchange of aquatic microbes across distinct aquatic habitats
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This study investigated how microorganisms hitchhike on microplastics as they move between river and ocean environments, finding that plastic surfaces were colonized by pollutant-degrading bacteria and plastic-degrading fungi. The mere presence of microplastics in seawater increased the abundance of planktonic fungi from 2% to 25%, showing that microplastics significantly alter microbial communities. This matters for human health because microplastics can transport potentially harmful microorganisms across different water environments, including those used for drinking water and aquaculture.
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