Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Ecology of the plastisphere

This review explores the plastisphere, the diverse microbial community that colonizes plastic debris in the ocean, which now spans multiple biomes on Earth. Researchers examine how microplastics serve as novel substrates for microbial colonization and may facilitate the dispersal of microorganisms, including potentially harmful species, across aquatic ecosystems. The study highlights key questions about whether plastics harbor a unique core microbial community distinct from natural surfaces.

2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology 1179 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic Microbial Diversity on Plastisphere: Colonization and Potential Role in Microplastic Biodegradation

This review examines how microorganisms colonize the surfaces of floating plastic debris in aquatic environments, forming communities known as the plastisphere. Researchers found that certain bacteria and fungi on plastic surfaces show potential for biodegrading the polymers they inhabit. The study suggests that understanding these microbial communities could lead to biological approaches for breaking down microplastic pollution in waterways.

2023 Geomicrobiology Journal 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial colonization and degradation of marine microplastics in the plastisphere: A review

This review explores the "plastisphere" — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastics floating in the ocean. Researchers found that bacteria, fungi, algae, and other microbes form unique biofilm communities on plastic surfaces, some of which can partially degrade the plastic while others include potentially harmful pathogens. Understanding these microbial communities is important for assessing both the ecological risks and possible bioremediation potential of marine microplastic pollution.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 189 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on marine plastisphere: biodiversity, formation, and role in degradation

This review explored the "plastisphere," the community of bacteria, fungi, and algae that colonize microplastic surfaces in the ocean. Researchers found that these microbial communities differ from those in surrounding seawater and include species capable of degrading plastic, though the process is extremely slow. Understanding the plastisphere is important because it influences how microplastics behave in the ocean, including whether they sink or float and how they interact with marine life.

2022 Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Plastic Debris: A New Surface for Microbial Colonization

This review examines the "Plastisphere" -- the community of microbes that rapidly colonizes plastic debris in the ocean -- covering biofilm development, potential biodegradation, and the hitchhiking of harmful bacteria. Researchers found that microbial communities on plastics do not dramatically differ from those on other inert surfaces, especially in mature biofilms. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and calls for more environmentally realistic research into how these plastic-associated microbes interact with marine ecosystems.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 465 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

Plastisphere microbiome: Methodology, diversity, and functionality

This review explores the plastisphere, the community of microorganisms that colonize plastic debris in the environment. The authors cover methods for studying these microbial communities, the diversity of organisms found living on plastics, and their functional roles including potential plastic degradation and pathogen harboring. Understanding the plastisphere is important because these microbial communities can influence how plastics break down and what health risks plastic pollution may pose.

2023 iMeta 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere - a new habitat of microbial community: Composition, structure and ecological consequences

This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities colonizing microplastics — covering the composition and structure of plastisphere microbiomes across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments and discussing ecological consequences including pathogen dispersal.

2025 Sustainable Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Health Impact of Plastisphere

This review examines the growing body of research on plastisphere ecosystems in aquatic environments including rivers, lakes, and estuaries, discussing microbial community composition on plastic surfaces and the ecological consequences for freshwater biodiversity and function.

2025
Article Tier 2

The ecology of the plastisphere: Microbial composition, function, assembly, and network in the freshwater and seawater ecosystems

Researchers studied the communities of bacteria and fungi that colonize microplastic surfaces in freshwater and seawater, forming what scientists call the plastisphere. These microplastic-associated communities were distinctly different from those in surrounding water, and included a higher proportion of disease-causing organisms and species involved in pollutant degradation. The findings suggest that microplastics create new habitats that can harbor pathogens and alter natural microbial ecosystems in ways that may affect water quality and human health.

2021 Water Research 311 citations
Article Tier 2

Surfing and dining on the “plastisphere”: Microbial life on plastic marine debris

This review examines the microbial communities — the "plastisphere" — that colonize floating plastic debris in the ocean, discussing how these biofilms form, who lives in them, and what risks they may pose to marine ecosystems and human health. The unique chemistry and buoyancy of plastic creates a novel habitat that can transport potentially harmful microbes across ocean basins.

2017 Advances in Oceanography and Limnology 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial colonization of microplastic particles in aquatic systems

This review examined how microplastic particles become colonized by diverse microbial communities in aquatic environments, forming the so-called plastisphere. The research highlights that microplastics create novel ecological niches and may facilitate the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in freshwater and marine systems.

2018 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Microbial Assemblages on Microplastics: Diversity, Adaptation, and Role in Degradation

This review examines microbial communities that colonize microplastics in the ocean, collectively known as the plastisphere. Researchers found that these biofilms differ significantly from those on natural surfaces and may include pathogenic bacteria and species capable of partially degrading plastics. The study highlights both the ecological risks of microplastics as vectors for harmful microbes and the potential for harnessing plastic-degrading organisms.

2019 Annual Review of Marine Science 434 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere community assemblage of aquatic environment: plastic-microbe interaction, role in degradation and characterization technologies

This review examines the plastisphere—microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces in aquatic environments—covering how these biofilms form, their role in plastic biodegradation, and current characterization technologies for studying plastic-microbe interactions.

2022 Environmental Microbiome 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Environments

This review summarizes the current state of microplastic research in aquatic environments, covering the plastisphere — the microbial community that colonizes plastic surfaces — and the ways microplastics interact with other aquatic organisms. The paper highlights microplastics as a growing ecological concern that affects food webs and ecosystem processes.

2022 Microplastics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic Biofilms and Plastisphere

This review examined aquatic biofilms and plastisphere communities that colonize microplastic surfaces, discussing how plastic substrates select for distinct microbial assemblages and may harbor pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil plastisphere: Exploration methods, influencing factors, and ecological insights

This review explored the soil plastisphere, examining how microplastics serve as substrates for microbial colonization in terrestrial ecosystems, and identified key factors influencing plastisphere formation, composition, and ecological functions in soil environments.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 125 citations
Article Tier 2

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПОВЕДЕНИЯ МИКРОПЛАТИКА В ВОДНОЙ СРЕДЕ: ПЛАСТИСФЕРА - НОВАЯ МОРСКАЯ ЭКОСИСТЕМА

This review examines the behavior of microplastics in aquatic environments with a focus on the Plastisphere - microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces that form a novel marine ecosystem. The review synthesizes information on Plastisphere formation mechanisms, distribution in water, risks associated with pathogen and pollutant transport, and potential applications for removing microplastics from contaminated water.

2025 Проблемы окружающей среды и природных ресурсов
Review Tier 2

Responses of natural plastisphere community and zooplankton to microplastic pollution: a review on novel remediation strategies

This review examines how microbial communities colonize microplastic surfaces in aquatic environments, forming what scientists call the plastisphere, and how these plastic-associated microbes interact with zooplankton. Researchers found that microplastics serve as floating platforms for bacteria, including potentially harmful species, and can transfer these microbes up the food chain through zooplankton ingestion. The study highlights novel bioremediation strategies that harness natural microbial processes to help break down microplastic pollution.

2025 Archives of Microbiology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

(micro)Plastic biofilms: Keeping afloat by carving out a new niche

This review examined how microplastics serve as persistent substrates for microbial biofilm formation in natural environments, creating a novel ecological niche called the plastisphere that hosts distinct microbial communities. The authors discussed how these biofilms alter microplastic surface properties and may enhance the persistence and transport of plastic particles and associated microbes.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Investigating the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces

Researchers investigated the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces, examining how microbial communities interact with plastic polymers in environmental settings. The study characterized the 'plastisphere' — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces — and assessed the extent to which microbial activity contributes to plastic degradation in natural environments.

2024
Article Tier 2

Biofilms on Plastic Debris and the Microbiome

This review synthesizes knowledge on biofilms that colonize plastic debris in the ocean, known as the plastisphere, covering how microbial communities are structured and how they interact with the surrounding environment. The authors discuss implications for nutrient cycling, pathogen transport, and polymer degradation.

2024 Microorganisms 5 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

Plastisphere in freshwaters: An emerging concern

This review introduced the concept of the freshwater plastisphere - the microbial community colonizing plastic debris in rivers and lakes - and found that freshwater plastisphere communities are compositionally distinct from marine ones and from ambient water microbiomes, with implications for pathogen dispersal and plastic degradation in inland waters.

2021 Environmental Pollution 91 citations