Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics Stress Alters Microorganism Community Structure and Reduces the Production of Biogenic Dimethylated Sulfur Compounds

Researchers studied how microplastic stress alters marine microbial community composition and affects production of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethyl sulfide, which play key roles in global sulfur cycling and cloud formation. Microplastic exposure shifted microbial community structure and significantly reduced DMSP and DMS production, with potential implications for climate-relevant atmospheric sulfur emissions from the ocean.

2025
Article Tier 2

Effects of micro- and nano-plastics on community assemblages and dimethylated sulfur compounds production

Researchers conducted a field microcosm experiment to study how micro- and nanoplastics affect marine plankton communities and the production of climate-relevant sulfur compounds. They found that medium and high concentrations of polystyrene, polyethylene, and polyamide particles disrupted zooplankton grazing and altered the production of dimethyl sulfide. The study suggests that plastic pollution could interfere with marine biogeochemical cycles that play a role in climate regulation.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Impacts of nano- and micro-plastics exposure on zooplankton grazing, bacterial communities, and dimethylated sulfur compounds production in the microcosms

Researchers investigated how nano- and microplastics affect zooplankton grazing, bacterial communities, and the production of climate-relevant dimethyl sulfide compounds. The study found that plastic particle exposure reduced zooplankton feeding rates and disrupted dimethyl sulfide production in a dose- and size-dependent manner, with nanoplastics showing greater toxicity than larger microplastics.

2024 Environmental Pollution 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Environmental Stressors on Marine Biogenic Sulfur Compounds in the Northwest Pacific and Eastern Indian Oceans

Researchers conducted ship-based experiments in the Northwest Pacific and Eastern Indian Oceans to study how dust deposition, ocean acidification, and microplastic exposure affect marine sulfur compounds that play key roles in atmospheric chemistry. They found that these environmental stressors alter phytoplankton communities and modify how cells produce and break down sulfur-containing compounds. The results suggest that initial ocean conditions like nutrient availability may influence how sensitive these systems are to environmental changes.

2025 Geophysical Research Letters 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Decreased Dimethylsulfideand Increased PolybrominatedMethanes: Potential Climate Effects of Microplastic Pollution in AcidifiedOcean

Researchers conducted a ship-based microcosm experiment to investigate how combined microplastic pollution and ocean acidification affect biogenic climate-active gases, finding decreased dimethylsulfide and increased polybrominated methanes, with potential implications for marine climate regulation.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Decreased Dimethylsulfide and Increased Polybrominated Methanes: Potential Climate Effects of Microplastic Pollution in Acidified Ocean

A ship-based microcosm experiment simulating ocean acidification and microplastic pollution found that combined conditions decreased dimethylsulfide production and increased polybrominated methane emissions, with potential climate-active gas implications for ocean carbon cycling.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Decreased Dimethylsulfideand Increased PolybrominatedMethanes: Potential Climate Effects of Microplastic Pollution in AcidifiedOcean

Researchers conducted a ship-based microcosm experiment examining the combined effects of microplastic pollution and ocean acidification on short-lived biogenic climate-active gases, finding that these stressors together decreased dimethylsulfide while increasing polybrominated methanes, suggesting novel climate feedback pathways.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Stable Isotopic and Metagenomic Analyses Reveal Microbial-Mediated Effects of Microplastics on Sulfur Cycling in Coastal Sediments

This study investigated how microplastics affect sulfur cycling in coastal mangrove sediments, an important process for marine ecosystem health. Biodegradable plastics actually increased sulfur-related bacterial activity more than conventional plastics, suggesting they may have unintended environmental effects. The findings show that microplastic pollution can disrupt fundamental chemical cycles in coastal environments, which could have cascading effects on water quality and the marine food web.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of micro- and nano-plastics on growth, antioxidant system, DMS, and DMSP production in Emiliania huxleyi

Researchers exposed a key ocean-dwelling algae species to polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics and found that both sizes impaired growth and triggered oxidative stress. The nanoplastics were more harmful than microplastics, reducing chlorophyll content and altering the production of climate-relevant sulfur compounds. The study suggests that plastic pollution could disrupt ocean algae that play an important role in regulating atmospheric chemistry and climate.

2024 Environmental Pollution 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of co-exposure to nanoplastics and ofloxacin on marine planktonic microbial communities and DMSP dynamics

Researchers conducted a 19-day experiment examining how nanoplastics and the antibiotic ofloxacin, alone and in combination, affect marine microbial communities and sulfur cycling in coastal seawater. Combined exposure produced significantly stronger negative effects than either pollutant alone, reducing microbial biomass, simplifying community networks, and disrupting the cycling of DMSP, a compound important for marine food webs and climate regulation.

2026 Marine Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent influences of nano- and micro-plastics exposure on feeding, antioxidant systems, and organic sulfur compounds in ciliate Uronema marinum

Researchers studied how nano- and microplastics of different sizes affect a marine ciliate that plays a key role in ocean sulfur cycling. Exposure to polystyrene particles reduced the organisms' ability to feed on algae, which in turn dramatically decreased their production of dimethyl sulfide, a gas important for climate regulation. The findings suggest that plastic pollution could disrupt fundamental ocean chemistry processes beyond its direct effects on individual organisms.

2024 Environmental Pollution 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A Study of the Effects of Microplastics on Microbial Communities in Marine Sediments

This study investigated how the presence of microplastics in marine sediments affects microbial communities and, specifically, the methane cycle, finding that microplastics significantly altered microbial community structure and function. Since marine sediment microbes play a critical role in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic contamination could have broader climate-relevant effects beyond direct toxicity.

2024 Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on microbial-mediated soil sulfur transformations in flooded conditions

This study examined how polystyrene and polyphenylene sulfide microplastics affect microbial-mediated sulfur transformations in flooded soils. Researchers found that microplastic contamination significantly altered the microbial community structure involved in sulfur cycling, suggesting that microplastics could disrupt important nutrient processes in waterlogged agricultural soils.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 15 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the response of microbial communities to polyethylene micro(nano)plastics exposure in cold seep sediment

Researchers explored how polyethylene micro- and nanoplastics affect microbial communities in cold seep ocean sediments over a 120-day experiment. While the plastics did not significantly change overall microbial diversity, they did alter the community structure and affected methane-related metabolic processes. The study suggests that plastic pollution could interfere with important deep-sea biogeochemical cycles, including those involved in methane regulation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on CHCl3 and CHBr3 fluxes and microbial community in temperate salt marsh soil

This study examined how polyethylene microplastics in marine sediments affect the production of halogenated compounds (chloroform and bromoform) and microbial community structure, finding that plastics alter both biogeochemical fluxes and microbial diversity.

2024 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Types of Microplastics on Cold Seep Microbial Diversity and Function

Researchers simulated deep-sea cold seep conditions to study how different microplastics affect microbial communities. They found that microplastics made the plastisphere microbial networks more fragile than surrounding environments and disrupted nitrogen cycling and methane metabolism, while potentially concentrating pathogenic species.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Reshape the Fate of Aqueous Carbon by Inducing Dynamic Changes in Biodiversity and Chemodiversity

Researchers found that microplastics reshape aqueous carbon cycling by releasing chemical additives that inhibit autotrophic bacteria, promoting CO2 emissions, and stimulating microbial metabolic pathways that transform dissolved organic matter into more stable, less bioavailable forms.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Weathered microplastics alter deep sea benthic biogeochemistry and organic matter cycling: insights from a microcosm experiment

Weathered (aged) microplastics deposited in deep-sea sediments were found to alter benthic biogeochemical cycles, affecting nitrogen and carbon processing by seafloor microorganisms. The findings show that plastic pollution can disrupt the chemical ecology of even the most remote deep-ocean environments.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of nanoplastics exposure on ingestion, life history traits, and dimethyl sulfide production in rotifer Brachionus plicatilis

Researchers exposed tiny marine organisms called rotifers to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that the particles accumulated in their digestive tracts, shortened their lifespans, and reduced their ability to reproduce. Higher concentrations also decreased the production of dimethyl sulfide, a compound important for cloud formation and climate regulation. This study shows that nanoplastic pollution can affect marine organisms at the base of the food chain, with potential ripple effects on both ecosystems and the climate.

2024 Environmental Pollution 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Microplastic Pollution Change Important Aquatic Bacterial Communities?

Microplastics in coastal sediments can change the composition of important bacterial communities that cycle nutrients and maintain ecosystem health. Microplastic-associated bacteria differ significantly from natural sediment bacteria, with potential consequences for the chemical processes these communities perform.

2021 Frontiers for Young Minds
Article Tier 2

Textile waste and microplastic induce activity and development of unique hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterial communities

Marine microbial communities respond differently to virgin plastic microbeads, textile fibers, and a surfactant, each inducing distinct patterns of metabolic activity. The findings show that microplastics support unique microbial communities with potential roles in both pollution cycling and disease transmission.

2020 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Phylogeny and biogeography of the algal DMS-releasing enzyme in the global ocean

Not relevant to microplastics — this study maps the evolutionary distribution of an algal enzyme that releases dimethyl sulfide, a climate-relevant gas, across ocean ecosystems.

2023 ISME Communications 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the hidden world of microorganisms and their impact on the Earth's ecosystems

This paper is not directly about microplastics; it is a broad review of microbial ecology covering microorganism roles in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals, and how advances in genomics have transformed our understanding of microbial community diversity and function.

2023 mLife