Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Effect of Microplastics on Microbial Succession at Impaired and Unimpaired Sites in a Riverine System

Researchers compared microbial biofilm diversity on microplastic polymers and natural substrates at impaired and unimpaired riverine sites, examining how environmental nutrient loads, seasonality, and geography influence microbiome succession on plastic surfaces in freshwater ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic biofilm in fresh- and wastewater as a function of microparticle type and size class

Researchers compared the biofilm communities that form on microplastics of different types and sizes in both freshwater and wastewater, finding that biofilm composition was influenced by particle type, size, and water source. These findings advance understanding of the plastisphere — the microbial community unique to plastic surfaces — and its potential role in spreading microorganism-associated risks.

2019 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative analysis of microplastic and microbial communities in varied aquatic environments: Disparities in occurrence, interconnections, and ecological implications

Comparative surveys of microplastics and associated microbial communities across river, reservoir, and bay environments in the Dongjiang watershed found that MP abundance and microbial community composition differed significantly by water type, with MP surfaces hosting distinct microbial assemblages.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiomes on microplastics versus natural microcarriers: Stability and transformation during aquatic travel from aquaculture ponds to adjacent stream

Researchers compared microbial communities that form on microplastics versus natural materials as they travel from aquaculture ponds to adjacent streams. They found that different plastic types harbored distinct microbial communities, and that these plastisphere communities were less stable than those on natural substrates during transit between water bodies. The study suggests that microplastics may spread different assemblages of microorganisms as they move through connected aquatic environments.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Pharmaceuticals on Microbial Colonization of Microplastic in Streams

This study examined how pharmaceutical contaminants in streams affect microbial communities that colonize microplastics. Pharmaceutical-exposed microplastics developed distinctly different microbial communities than unexposed ones, suggesting that the combined presence of microplastics and pharmaceuticals creates novel ecological conditions in urban waterways.

2020 Loyola eCommons (Loyola University of Chicago)
Article Tier 2

Wastewater discharges and polymer type modulate the riverine plastisphere and set the role of microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antibiotic resistance

Researchers investigated how wastewater treatment plant discharges and polymer type shape microbial communities on microplastics in a river environment. They found that microplastics harbored significantly higher microbial diversity than surrounding water, and that wastewater discharges led to a 2.3-fold increase in antibiotic resistance gene abundance on the plastic surfaces. Different polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET, each attracted distinct microbial communities with varying levels of pathogens and resistance genes.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial and fungal assemblages and functions associated with biofilms differ between diverse types of plastic debris in a freshwater system

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.

2020 Environmental Research 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Partitioning Of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants And Microbial Communities On Microplastics

This study examined how hydrophobic organic contaminants and microbial communities partition onto microplastics in aquatic environments. Microplastics were found to concentrate toxic chemicals and harbor distinct microbial communities compared to surrounding water, reinforcing their role as vectors for pollutants.

2019
Article Tier 2

Nascently generated microplastics in freshwater stream are colonized by bacterial communities from stream and riparian sources

Researchers examined bacterial colonization of different types of nascently generated microplastics through time in a freshwater stream ecosystem, finding that colonizing taxa and their degradative abilities varied based on microplastic polymer type and time of exposure.

2024 Journal of Environmental Quality 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments

This review compared microplastic-associated biofilm communities in freshwater and marine environments, examining how plastic type, ecosystem, and environmental conditions shape the microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces. Understanding these "plastisphere" communities is important because they may include pathogens and can affect the fate and transport of plastic particles.

2017 ˜The œhandbook of environmental chemistry 188 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater-induced microplastic biofouling in freshwater: role of particle size and flow velocity

This study examined how wastewater discharge promotes biofouling — the colonization of microplastics by microorganisms — in freshwater environments, finding that particle size and wastewater-derived nutrients both influenced biofilm formation rates and community composition. Wastewater-exposed microplastics rapidly developed distinct microbial communities.

2024 Environmental Science Advances 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Analysis of Selective Bacterial Colonization by Polyethylene and Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics

Biofilm communities were compared on polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics incubated in two freshwater bacterial communities, finding that the original water source bacteria largely determined biofilm composition rather than the plastic type. The study suggests that the plastisphere in freshwater systems reflects local microbial pools more than plastic-specific selection.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities on microplastic‐associated biofilms in marine and freshwater environments

Researchers analyzed microbial biofilm communities on microplastic surfaces in both marine and freshwater environments, finding that plastic-associated biofilms harbor distinct prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities with potential roles in plastic biodegradation.

2024 Engineering in Life Sciences 6 citations
Article Tier 2

No trophy for the trophy? - How lake trophy impacts bacterial assemblages of biofilm on microplastic

A field experiment incubating microplastics in five lakes with different nutrient levels (trophy) found that bacterial biofilm composition on MPs was dominated by Proteobacteria and differed significantly from free-water communities, but lake trophy had limited influence on overall biofilm diversity. This suggests that plastic surfaces create a distinct microbial niche independent of the surrounding water quality, with implications for how plastic-associated bacteria spread through freshwater ecosystems.

2023 Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

The plastisphere ecology: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on microbial community composition, function and assembly in aquatic ecosystems

Researchers studied the microbial communities living on microplastic surfaces (called the plastisphere) across four different aquatic sites and found that plastics host a distinctly different mix of microbes than the surrounding water, shaped by local pollution sources. These plastic-surface microbes also carry more antibiotic resistance genes and show greater potential for breaking down plastics, making the plastisphere both a health concern and a potential bioremediation resource.

2024 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological perspectives on the effects of microplastics on the aquatic environment

This review examines how microplastics interact with microorganisms in aquatic environments, highlighting risks to microbial communities and the potential for microplastics to disrupt ecosystem functions. Microplastics may alter microbial diversity and promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2019 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial biofilm formation and community structure on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms

Researchers investigated biofilm formation on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms, finding that microplastic surfaces supported distinct and dynamic microbial communities that differed from those in the surrounding water.

2019 Environmental Pollution 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on microplastics in riverine waters of the Pearl River Delta, China

Microbial biofilm communities on microplastics in Pearl River Delta waterways showed distinct composition and diversity compared to surrounding water and natural surfaces, with river environmental conditions more influential than plastic polymer type in shaping biofilm structure.

2021 Chemosphere 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact de la pollution plastique sur les communautés microbiennes de rivière

This study investigates how plastic pollution affects microbial communities in rivers, focusing on the 'plastisphere' — the distinct biofilm communities that form on plastic surfaces in aquatic environments. Plastics not only carry unique microbial assemblages but may also harbor potentially harmful microorganisms, raising concerns for aquatic ecosystem health.

2023 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Evidence of selective enrichment of bacterial assemblages and antibiotic resistant genes by microplastics in urban rivers

Researchers sampled microplastics from two urban rivers in China and found that the bacterial communities colonizing plastic particles were distinctly different from those in the surrounding water. The microplastic-associated bacteria had lower diversity but higher proportions of biofilm-forming species and functions linked to human disease. Notably, the study found that microplastics selectively enriched antibiotic resistance genes, raising concerns about plastics serving as reservoirs for drug-resistant bacteria.

2020 Water Research 313 citations
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic Litter in Urban Freshwater Ecosystems: Distribution and Microbial Interactions

Researchers quantified anthropogenic litter in urban rivers and streams and found that microplastics dominated by mass and particle count compared to macroplastic items. The study highlights urban freshwater systems as major conduits for plastic pollution moving toward marine environments and documents distinct microbial communities on plastic surfaces.

2014 PLoS ONE 287 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic exposure across trophic levels: effects on the host–microbiota of freshwater organisms

Researchers examined how microplastic exposure across trophic levels affects the gut microbiota of freshwater organisms, finding that microplastics alter microbial community composition and that effects can transfer through food web interactions.

2022 Environmental Microbiome 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilms on plastic litter in an urban river: Community composition and activity vary by substrate type

Researchers examined biofilms colonizing plastic litter versus natural surfaces in an urban river, finding that community composition and metabolic activity vary by substrate type, with plastic surfaces hosting distinct microbial communities that may influence plastic degradation rates.

2024 Water Environment Research 7 citations
Article Tier 2

The travelling particles: community dynamics of biofilms on microplastics transferred along a salinity gradient

Researchers tracked how microbial communities on microplastics changed as the particles moved along a salinity gradient from freshwater to marine environments, finding that the plastisphere shifted substantially with changing salinity. The results suggest that microplastics can transport distinct microbial assemblages across environmental boundaries.

2022 ISME Communications 48 citations