Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Study of the Bacterial, Fungal, and Archaeal Communities Structures near the Bulgarian Antarctic Research Base “St. Kliment Ohridski” on Livingston Island, Antarctica

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper profiles the microbial communities (bacteria, fungi, archaea) found near a Bulgarian Antarctic research station, finding diverse and largely unidentified species with potential biotechnological uses.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic impacts archaeal abundance, microbial communities, and their network connectivity in a Sub-Saharan soil environment

Researchers used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterise prokaryotic communities in native plastisphere and soil from Sub-Saharan African environments with high unmanaged plastic waste. The plastisphere enriched distinct bacterial communities and archaeal taxa compared to surrounding soil, and high-population sites showed elevated potential pathogen abundance.

2025 FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere colonization in Antarctica: a microcosmos approach

Researchers conducted a 33-day microcosm experiment incubating polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, and quartz fragments in Antarctic seawater and used SEM, flow cytometry, qPCR, and metagenomics to characterize bacterial plastisphere colonization, finding that microbial community composition was driven primarily by incubation time rather than polymer type, with Oleispira potentially involved in hydrocarbon degradation.

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

Dynamics and functions of microbial communities in the plastisphere in temperate coastal environments

Researchers explored microbial communities colonizing microplastics in coastal environments of Japan, comparing bacterial and fungal communities across different plastic types, water, sediment, and sand. The study found that while microbial communities varied by sample type and location rather than plastic shape, microplastics harbored hydrocarbon-degrading organisms as well as potential pathogens, highlighting the ecological significance of plastic-associated biofilms.

2024 Water Research 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Diverse groups of fungi are associated with plastics in the surface waters of the Western South Atlantic and the Antarctic Peninsula

DNA metabarcoding of fungi on marine plastic debris from the Western South Atlantic and Antarctic Peninsula revealed 64 orders across eight fungal phyla, including many taxa not previously described on plastic surfaces. The study is the first to characterize the plastic-associated fungal communities of the Southern Hemisphere, highlighting the unknown ecological roles of plastic-colonizing fungi.

2020 Molecular Ecology 122 citations
Article Tier 2

The Culturable Mycobiota of Sediments and Associated Microplastics: From a Harbor to a Marine Protected Area, a Comparative Study

Researchers investigated fungal diversity in sediments and microplastic surfaces at three Mediterranean sites with varying anthropogenic impact -- a harbor, a marine protected area, and an intermediate site -- culturing 1,526 isolates and finding that microplastics harbor distinct fungal assemblages compared to surrounding sediments, with several species recorded for the first time in marine environments.

2022 Journal of Fungi 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of 16S rRNA amplicon data illuminates the major role of environment in determining the marine plastisphere microbial communities

Researchers analysed 16S rRNA amplicon data from marine plastisphere communities, finding that environmental factors play the dominant role in determining the microbial communities that colonise microplastic surfaces in marine ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Prokaryotic Diversity and Community Patterns in Antarctic Continental Shelf Sponges

Antarctic sponges were found to host diverse communities of bacteria, some of which produce potentially useful bioactive compounds. This is a microbial ecology study not directly related to microplastics.

2019 Frontiers in Marine Science 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Associations between bacterial communities and microplastics from surface seawater of the Northern Patagonian area of Chile

Researchers characterized bacterial communities on microplastics collected from three coastal sites with varying aquaculture activity in Chilean Patagonia, identifying 3,102 OTUs dominated by Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria, with communities differing from surrounding seawater at all sites. Despite site-specific variation, 222 bacterial OTUs were shared across all three locations, suggesting a core plastisphere community that persists across different anthropogenic conditions.

2022 Environmental Pollution 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal variation of bacterial community structure in two intertidal sediment types of Jiaozhou Bay

This is a microbial ecology study characterizing bacterial communities in intertidal sediments of Jiaozhou Bay, China, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing; it is not a microplastics research paper.

2023
Article Tier 2

Microbial Communities on Plastic Polymers in the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers collected floating microplastics from a bay in the Mediterranean and analyzed their bacterial biofilm communities using 16S rRNA sequencing, finding that microbial communities on plastics were distinct from surrounding seawater and differed between polymer types.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 125 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of Research Station Activities to Microplastic Pollution in Antarctica: A Case Study of King Sejong Station

Researchers monitored microplastic pollution from King Sejong Antarctic research station over time to assess whether local station activities contribute meaningfully to MP contamination. Frequent temporal sampling linked station operations to detectable MP pollution in surrounding environments, suggesting research stations are a locally significant source beyond ocean-transported plastics.

2025
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Microdiversity Within Marine Bacterial Taxa: Toward an Integrated Biogeography in the Southern Ocean

Researchers used advanced sequencing techniques to study the fine-scale diversity and geographic distribution of bacteria in the Southern Ocean. Understanding ocean microbial communities is relevant to microplastic research because plastics in the ocean host distinct microbial communities that can alter local ecology.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in sediments of the waters near the Akademik Vernadsky station

Researchers examined microplastic distribution in bottom sediments near the Akademik Vernadsky Antarctic research station, identifying artificial polymer particles in geological components and adapting analytical methods to characterize polar microplastic contamination driven by station activities and regional transport.

2025 Ukrainian Antarctic Journal
Article Tier 2

Determination of the presence of microplastics in intertidal sediments of deception island, antarctica

Researchers determined the presence and characteristics of microplastics in intertidal sediments of Deception Island, Antarctica, providing evidence that plastic contamination has reached one of Earth's most remote environments and documenting the role of marine sediments as sinks for persistent microplastic pollution.

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

Effects of microplastics on cold seep sediment prokaryotic communities

Researchers studied how polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene microplastics affect microbial communities in cold seep sediments over a 120-day incubation period. The study found that microplastics significantly altered bacterial community structure in a type- and concentration-dependent manner, with some bacteria associated with plastic degradation increasing, while archaeal communities were less affected.

2023 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Arctic macrosources of the microplastic pollution (Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen): Spectral characterization and first insight into the fungal diversity on the arctic plastisphere

Researchers identified local plastic macro- and meso-litter on an Arctic beach in Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen) as composed predominantly of polyethylene (64%), polypropylene (27%), and polystyrene (9%), and isolated 20 fungal taxa from the plastisphere — including 4 previously unreported from Svalbard — suggesting plastics may act as vectors for alien fungal species in the Arctic.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Uniqueness and Dependence of Bacterial Communities on Microplastics: Comparison with Water, Sediment, and Soil

Researchers compared bacterial communities on microplastics with those in water, sediment, and soil in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, finding that microplastic-associated communities are unique in composition and ecological function compared to surrounding environments.

2021 Microbial Ecology 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere colonization in Antarctica: a microcosmos approach

Researchers investigated the Antarctic plastisphere by incubating polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, and quartz fragments in seawater microcosms for 33 days, using SEM, flow cytometry, qPCR, and metagenomics to track microbial colonization dynamics. They found that biofilm formation occurred rapidly but at slower growth rates than other oceanic regions, with time rather than polymer type driving community succession, and identified Oleispira as a genus of interest for potential hydrocarbon degradation.

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

Advocating microbial diversity conservation in Antarctica

This review highlights how human activities, tourism, and climate change are threatening Antarctica's unique microbial ecosystems, with microplastics now reaching even this remote continent. While focused on conservation, the study underscores that microplastic pollution is truly global in scale, contaminating environments far from any source of plastic production.

2025 npj Biodiversity 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal distribution of soil microbial communities and nutrient availability around a municipal solid waste landfill

Despite its title referencing soil microbial communities near a municipal solid waste landfill, this paper studies bacterial and fungal community composition in soils surrounding a landfill — not microplastic pollution. It examines how proximity to the landfill affects microbial diversity and nutrient cycling and is not directly relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Frontiers in Microbiology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics in Soils and Intertidal Sediments at Fildes Bay, Maritime Antarctica

Researchers found microplastic contamination in soils and intertidal sediments at Fildes Bay in Maritime Antarctica, with higher concentrations near research stations, demonstrating that even remote polar environments are affected by microplastic pollution.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic occurrence, sources, and impacts in Antarctic environment and biota

Researchers reviewed evidence of plastic pollution in Antarctica, finding microplastics — mostly fibers — in sea ice, ocean water, sediments, and both marine and land animals, raising concern that even the most remote ecosystems on Earth are contaminated and that biodiversity and ecosystem functions may be at risk.

2022 Water Biology and Security 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Deep-sea anthropogenic macrodebris harbours rich and diverse communities of bacteria and archaea

Diverse communities of bacteria and archaea were found living on anthropogenic debris (including plastics) in the deep sea, suggesting that human waste is creating new microbial habitats in the ocean's most remote regions. These plastic-associated microbial communities may spread non-native organisms to new deep-sea locations.

2018 PLoS ONE 53 citations