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Metagenomic insight into the ecological effects of the plastisphere in coastal salt marshes
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Microplastics in coastal salt marshes don't just sit there — they create a distinct microbial habitat called the "plastisphere" that alters the way nutrients cycle through these carbon-rich ecosystems. A year-long field study in China found that plastisphere microbes showed different patterns of nitrogen and sulfur cycling depending on whether they were in tidal or upland zones, and that antibiotic resistance genes were enriched on plastic surfaces throughout. These findings suggest that microplastic pollution in salt marshes — critical ecosystems for carbon storage and coastal protection — may be quietly reshaping the microbial processes that keep them functioning.
Microplastics (MPs) introduce a unique ecological niche for microorganisms, termed the "plastisphere". Coastal salt marshes are critical blue‑carbon systems and MP sinks. However, the impacts of the plastisphere on major elemental cycling in coastal salt marshes remain poorly understood. To answer this important question, we conducted a 1-year field experiment in both the intertidal (Spartina alterniflora, SA) and supratidal (Phragmites australis, PA) zones of Yancheng salt marshes in China and investigated the dynamics using metagenomics. Results show pronounced heterogeneity in the ecological effects of the plastisphere in intertidal and supratidal zones. At the SA site, plastisphere communities showed increased gene abundance for nitrogen fixation, assimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and thiosulfate oxidation (by sulfur oxidation complex). In contrast, at the PA site, plastisphere communities exhibited elevated gene abundance for carbon degradation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and sulfite oxidation. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens were enriched in the plastisphere, with different compositions at SA and PA sites and some taxa exclusively present in the plastisphere despite low abundance. These findings highlight the plastisphere's potential to modulate biogeochemical processes and antibiotic resistance in salt marshes, providing a foundation for assessing MPs' ecological roles in these critical habitats.
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Researchers incubated three types of microplastics in a seagrass meadow for one month and found that microbial communities on plastic surfaces differed significantly from those on natural substrates. Microplastic invasion shifted carbon- and nitrogen-fixing microbes and related genes, potentially affecting the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrass ecosystems. The study also raises concerns about antibiotic resistance genes accumulating on microplastic surfaces in these environments.
Insight into the bacterial community composition of the plastisphere in diverse environments of a coastal salt marsh
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Researchers conducted a year-long field experiment examining microbial communities that colonize different types of microplastics in a Chinese coastal salt marsh across three distinct habitat zones. They found that the type of plastic polymer and the surrounding environment both significantly influenced the composition of the bacterial communities growing on the plastic surfaces. The study reveals that bio-based plastics like polylactic acid harbored distinctly different microbial communities compared to petroleum-based plastics like polyethylene.
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Plastic debris floating in seagrass meadows—vital "blue carbon" ecosystems that help absorb planet-warming CO2—creates a unique surface where microbes cluster and behave differently than they do in the surrounding water and sediment. This research found that these plastic-dwelling microbial communities may increase greenhouse gas release, produce more toxic hydrogen sulfide, and disrupt nutrient balance, potentially weakening seagrass health and its ability to fight climate change. While this study focused on ecosystem impacts rather than direct effects on people, healthier seagrass meadows support ocean health, c
Vegetation, salinity, and tides drive nitrogen cycling in Mangrove plastispheres
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Researchers studied how microplastics affect nitrogen-cycling microbial communities in mangrove ecosystems under varying salinity and tidal conditions. They found that microplastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities with significantly higher abundances of nitrogen-cycling genes compared to surrounding soils. The study suggests that microplastics may act as hotspots for nitrogen transformation in mangrove environments, potentially disrupting natural nutrient cycling.
Structure and assembly mechanisms of different microbial taxa in plastisphere in coastal wetlands: An in-situ culture experiment
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Microplastics in coastal wetlands don't just pollute—they create tiny "islands" that host their own simplified, tight-knit microbial communities, and biodegradable plastics (often marketed as eco-friendly) actually cause bigger disruptions to these communities than traditional plastics do. This matters because these altered microbial hubs can potentially concentrate harmful bacteria and change how carbon and nitrogen cycle through coastal ecosystems, which humans rely on for fisheries, water filtration, and climate regulation. The good news: coastal plants (like marsh vegetation) helped buffer some of these negative
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