Papers

Biodegradation of Typical Plastics: From Microbial Diversity to Metabolic Mechanisms

This review examines how marine microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, can naturally break down common plastics like PET, polystyrene, and polyethylene. Marine microbes may be better adapted than land-based organisms for this task because they already thrive in harsh conditions, offering a potential environmentally friendly approach to addressing ocean plastic pollution.

Impacts of climatic stressors on dissolved organic matter leaching from microplastics and their effects on biogeochemical processes: A review

This review examines how microplastics release dissolved organic matter as they break down in the environment, and how climate change may accelerate this process. The chemicals leached from degrading plastics can disrupt microbial communities and natural nutrient cycles, potentially increasing greenhouse gas production and altering the ecosystems that ultimately support our food and water supplies.

The increasing age of facility agriculture significantly enriched microplastics and affected soil bacterial communities

A study of soil from 10 agricultural greenhouse facilities in Beijing found an average of 1,760 microplastic particles per kilogram, with contamination increasing as the facilities aged. The most common types were polypropylene and polyethylene fragments and films, likely from plastic mulch and greenhouse materials. While the microplastics affected some soil bacteria, facility age and basic soil properties had a stronger influence on the soil's microbial ecosystem than the plastics themselves.

Molecular characteristics and plastic additives in dissolved organic matter derived from polystyrene microplastics: Effects of cumulative irradiation and microplastic concentrations

This study investigated how ultraviolet light breaks down polystyrene microplastics and releases dissolved organic matter, including plastic additives, into the surrounding water. Greater UV exposure produced more complex chemical mixtures with higher levels of potentially toxic compounds. The findings are important because sunlight-driven breakdown of microplastics in the environment may release harmful chemicals into water sources that people use for drinking and recreation.

Occurrence and health risk assessment of phthalate ester pollution in mulched farmland soil at a national scale, China

Researchers analyzed farmland soils across 29 Chinese provinces and found widespread phthalate ester contamination linked to plastic mulching films, with di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate posing carcinogenic risks exceeding safety thresholds in over 11% of samples, pointing to inadequate current regulations on agricultural plastic use.

Application of advanced oxidation processes for the removal of micro/nanoplastics from water: A review

This review summarizes methods for breaking down and removing microplastics and nanoplastics from water using advanced chemical processes that generate powerful cleaning agents like hydroxyl radicals. While these methods can shrink and partially degrade plastic particles, they cannot yet fully break them down, meaning some residue remains. The research is important for developing better water treatment systems that could reduce human exposure to microplastics through drinking water.

Distinct species turnover patterns shaped the richness of antibiotic resistance genes on eight different microplastic polymers

Researchers studied antibiotic resistance genes on eight different types of microplastic surfaces in the environment and found 479 different resistance genes across all plastic types. Biodegradable plastics actually harbored more dangerous bacteria carrying resistance genes than conventional plastics, including species linked to human disease like Vibrio cholerae. This is concerning because these microplastics could spread antibiotic-resistant infections through the environment to people.

Effects of naturally aged microplastics on arsenic and cadmium accumulation in lettuce: Insights into rhizosphere microecology

Researchers studied how naturally aged microplastics in soil affect the uptake of arsenic and cadmium by lettuce. At low concentrations, microplastics actually reduced heavy metal absorption and helped plant growth, but at higher concentrations they increased the amount of toxic metals taken up by the lettuce. This means microplastic-contaminated farmland could lead to higher levels of heavy metals in salad greens and other vegetables that people eat.

Vertically co-distributed vanadium and microplastics drive distinct microbial community composition and assembly in soil

Researchers investigated the vertical co-distribution of vanadium and microplastics in soil profiles at a vanadium smelting site. The study found that both contaminants were present throughout the soil column and drove distinct changes in microbial community composition and assembly, suggesting combined impacts on soil ecosystem functioning.

Microplastic atmospheric dustfall pollution in urban environment: Evidence from the types, distribution, and probable sources in Beijing, China

Researchers collected atmospheric dustfall samples across urban Beijing and analyzed the types, distribution, and likely sources of airborne microplastics. They found that synthetic fibers from textiles and fragments from various plastic products were the dominant forms, with concentrations varying by location and proximity to pollution sources. The study provides evidence that urban atmospheric microplastic pollution is widespread and likely linked to daily human activities and industrial processes.

Microbial adaptation to co-occurring vanadium and microplastics in marine and riverine environments

Researchers studied the co-occurrence of vanadium contamination and microplastics in marine and riverine environments and examined how microbial communities respond to both pollutants. They found high concentrations of both contaminants across water and sediment samples, with microplastic biofilms enriched in plastic-degrading bacteria and vanadium-reducing species. The study suggests that vanadium influences microbial community composition on microplastics both directly and indirectly through changes to environmental conditions like pH.

Molecular-level insights into the heterogeneous variations and dynamic formation mechanism of leached dissolved organic matter during the photoaging of polystyrene microplastics

Researchers investigated the molecular-level changes that occur when polystyrene microplastics break down under light exposure and release dissolved organic matter into water. They found that the released molecules were highly diverse and changed dynamically over the course of aging, with different chemical classes appearing at different stages. The study provides new insight into how degrading microplastics introduce complex mixtures of organic chemicals into aquatic environments.

Molecularly Engineered Covalent Organic Frameworks for Hydrogen Peroxide Photosynthesis

Researchers developed a covalent organic framework photocatalyst for producing hydrogen peroxide from water and air using solar energy, achieving a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of up to 1.08%. The resulting hydrogen peroxide solution was capable of degrading pollutants. While not directly about microplastics, this research presents a potentially useful technology for environmental remediation including pollutant degradation in water systems.

Effects of arsenic on the transport and attachment of microplastics in porous media

Researchers studied how arsenic, a common groundwater contaminant, affects the movement of microplastics through soil. They found that arsenic in water generally reduced how far microplastics traveled by promoting their attachment to soil particles, though this effect depended on arsenic concentration, water flow speed, and soil moisture levels. The findings help predict how microplastics and heavy metals may interact and spread together in underground water systems.

Effects of organic additives on spectroscopic and molecular-level features of photo-induced dissolved organic matter from microplastics

Researchers studied how UV sunlight causes microplastics to release dissolved organic matter, and how chemical additives in commercial plastics affect this process. They found that commercial plastics with additives released significantly more organic compounds under UV light than pure polymer particles. The study suggests that as everyday plastic products break down in the environment, their built-in additives may amplify the release of potentially harmful dissolved chemicals into surrounding water.

Heavy Metals in the Sediments of Dongshan Bay, China: Sources, Distribution, and Controlling Factors

Researchers analyzed heavy metals in sediments from Dongshan Bay, China, estimating that roughly 270 tons of heavy metals were deposited there in 2021. Evidence indicates that aquaculture, industrial discharge, and household waste are the primary sources, with lead, arsenic, zinc, and mercury showing the most enrichment in the bay's sediments.

Undisclosed contribution of microbial assemblages selectively enriched by microplastics to the sulfur cycle in the large deep-water reservoir

Researchers investigated how microbial communities growing on microplastics in a large Chinese reservoir contribute to the sulfur cycle, a key environmental process. They found that plastic-degrading bacteria involved in sulfur cycling were enriched on microplastic surfaces, with specific sulfur-oxidizing species acting as keystone organisms in the microbial network. The study suggests that microplastics create distinct microbial habitats that can influence important nutrient and chemical cycles in freshwater reservoirs.

Bidirectional interference between nanoplastics and arsenic in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis: Reciprocal modulation of uptake, transformation and translocation

Researchers used a dual-compartment culture system to show that nanoplastics and arsenic interfere with each other inside arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, where nanoplastics reduce arsenic uptake by fungal hyphae while promoting its conversion to less toxic organic forms, and the fungi in turn internalize and translocate nanoplastics — revealing potential for fungal-based remediation of co-contaminated soils.

Biodegradable and Nondegradable Microplastics Cause Distinct Impacts on the Microbial Vanadate Removal

Researchers compared how biodegradable and non-degradable microplastics affect microbial removal of the toxic element vanadium from water. They found that biodegradable plastics like polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoate significantly improved vanadate removal by providing carbon sources that specific microorganisms could break down and use. The study reveals a previously unknown mechanism in which microbial decomposition of biodegradable microplastics indirectly enhances environmental detoxification processes.

Tire wear particles in aquatic environments: From biota to ecosystem impacts

This review synthesizes current knowledge on tire wear particles as a major source of traffic-related microplastic pollution in aquatic environments. The study found that tire wear particles and their chemical leachates, including heavy metals like zinc and organic compounds like 6-PPD, induce oxidative stress and DNA damage in aquatic organisms while disrupting biodiversity and destabilizing food web dynamics at the ecosystem level.

Synergetic and antagonistic effects of microplastics and perfluorooctanoic acid on constructive species in freshwater ecosystems

Selective enrichment of microbial community and functions in the plastisphere under vanadium pressures from a tailing pond ecosystem

Researchers analyzed the microbial communities colonizing microplastics (the plastisphere) in a vanadium mine tailings pond, finding that heavy metal pressure selected for low-diversity but functionally specialized assemblages enriched in vanadium-resistant and plastic-degrading bacteria, while also elevating potential pathogenicity genes and suppressing nitrogen cycling relative to surrounding sediments.

Temperature-Dependent Molecular Evolution of Biochar-Derived Dissolved Black Carbon and Its Interaction Mechanism with Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics

Researchers revealed that biochar-derived dissolved black carbon molecules evolve with formation temperature and interact with PVC microplastics through mechanisms involving hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces, affecting microplastic fate in water.

Microplastics in freshwater lakes: A case study from Southern India

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in Vellayani Lake, a major drinking water source in southern India, and found particles present across all sampling sites and seasons. Fibers were the most common shape, with polyethylene and polypropylene as the dominant polymer types, likely originating from domestic wastewater and fishing activities. The study highlights the need for monitoring microplastic pollution in freshwater lakes that serve as critical drinking water supplies.