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Microplastic impacts archaeal abundance, microbial communities, and their network connectivity in a Sub-Saharan soil environment
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Researchers used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterise prokaryotic communities in native plastisphere and soil from Sub-Saharan African environments with high unmanaged plastic waste. The plastisphere enriched distinct bacterial communities and archaeal taxa compared to surrounding soil, and high-population sites showed elevated potential pathogen abundance.
Unmanaged plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa pollutes large areas and degrades into microplastics (MPs). Surfaces of MP are colonized by bacteria and fungi, resulting in the plastisphere. Plastispheres from high population hotspots on the African continent enrich pathogenic fungi, posing a potential threat to human health. Prokaryotes in such plastispheres are unknown to date. Thus, we analysed the prokaryotic microbiome of native plastisphere and soil by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, with a focus on community assembly mechanisms and putative pathogenic bacteria. A strong plastic-dependent depletion of archaeal ammonia oxidizing Nitrososphaeraceae was observed. Prokaryotic but not archaeal beta diversity significantly differed between plastisphere and soil microbiomes. The prokaryotic pathogenic potential in the plastisphere was marginally increased relative to soil, suggesting that MP is a driver for fungal rather than bacterial pathogens. Null model comparisons revealed a moderately stronger effect of deterministic selection events in the plastisphere than in soil. We observed a severe disruption of cooccurrence network connectivity in plastisphere communities in contrast to bulk soil communities. This study closes the knowledge gap on plastic debris in Sub-Saharan terrestrial environments, and the observed effects on archaea and cooccurrence networks suggest negative impacts on nitrification and stability of microbial communities.
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Plastic debris impairs archaeal abundance in sub-saharan soil
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Microplastic contamination in Sub-Saharan African soils was found to reduce the abundance of archaea — ancient microorganisms that play key roles in soil nutrient cycling. This is one of the first studies to examine plastic effects on the archaeal component of soil microbiomes, which are largely overlooked compared to bacteria and fungi. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution could disrupt soil ecosystem functions in ways that affect agricultural productivity.
The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil
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Soil-buried plastic debris harbored microbial communities clearly distinct from surrounding bulk soil and from aquatic plastisphere communities, with a core set of plastic-colonizing taxa including Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria detected across both polymer types tested, suggesting that terrestrial plastisphere colonization follows predictable ecological rules.
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Researchers incubated five common microplastic polymer types in landfill soil for 14 months and used 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the plastisphere communities that assembled on each polymer. Polymer type was a significant deterministic factor in plastisphere microbiome composition, which differed from surrounding soil communities and varied over time.
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Researchers found that deep-sea plastic debris hosts distinctive communities of bacteria and fungi that persist over long periods, forming a plastisphere in the deep ocean. The study shows that plastic surfaces support microbial colonisation that differs markedly from surrounding sediment communities.
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Scientists found that plastic pollution in the ocean creates a unique surface where a group of microbes called archaea (distant relatives of bacteria) thrive differently than they do in the surrounding water, and this effect gets stronger in more polluted areas. These microbes can influence important chemical cycles in the ocean, like how methane and nitrogen are processed, meaning plastic waste may be quietly reshaping marine ecosystems in ways we're only beginning to understand. While this study doesn't directly address human health, it's a reminder that plastic pollution's effects reach deep into ocean life at the microbial level, potentially aff
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