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Dark side of biodegradable microplastics in mangrove ecosystem: Plastisphere as an overlooked hotspot of sulfate-reducing metabolism
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Researchers exposed polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics to mangrove sediments for 150 days, finding that PLA microplastics enriched sulfate-reducing microbes more than PE microplastics and stimulated dissimilatory sulfate reduction, raising concerns that biodegradable plastics may disrupt carbon-sulfur biogeochemical cycles in mangrove ecosystems.
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Microplastics modify the microbial-mediated carbon metabolism in mangroves
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Researchers exposed mangrove rhizosphere microbial communities to four types of microplastics in microcosm experiments and found that polyamide and PVC microplastics reduced microbial utilization of preferred carbon sources by up to 67%, while polyethylene exposure altered nitrogen-containing carbon metabolism. These disruptions to carbon and nitrogen cycling raise concerns about microplastics impairing the critical carbon sequestration function of mangrove ecosystems.
Plastisphere: Marine Microbial Assemblages for Biodegradation of Microplastics
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Researchers reviewing the plastisphere — microbial communities colonizing marine plastic debris — found that these assemblages harbor plastic-degrading microorganisms and examined their potential role in biodegrading microplastics, while also noting risks of pathogen dispersal on plastic surfaces.
Advances in Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastics in Mangrove Sediments: a Comprehensive Review
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This review examines how bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in mangrove sediments can biodegrade microplastics through colonization, fragmentation, assimilation, and mineralization, while also cataloging the toxicological impacts microplastics exert on both microorganisms and humans. Bioremediation of microplastic-contaminated mangroves is an urgent priority because these ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots and critical buffers between land-based plastic pollution and the open ocean.
Microplastics On Mangrove Ecosystem and Scope of Biodegradation—a Review
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Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in mangrove ecosystems, finding that these productive coastal habitats are accumulating plastic pollution at concerning levels, while also identifying indigenous microbial consortia as a promising biological strategy for microplastic degradation.
Bacterial communities on microplastics in a wetland ecosystem
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Analysis of bacterial communities on microplastics in Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, found that MP surfaces host distinct microbial assemblages with lower diversity but unique taxa enriched with Pseudomonas, and that MPs facilitate bacterial exchange between water and sediment. The plastisphere — the microbial community colonizing MP surfaces — may serve as a vector for pathogens and disease-associated microbes, raising concerns about ecological disruption and indirect human health risks through contaminated freshwater.
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