Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic polymer properties as deterministic factors driving terrestrial plastisphere microbiome assembly and succession in the field

Researchers incubated five common microplastic polymer types in landfill soil for 14 months and used 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the plastisphere communities that assembled on each polymer. Polymer type was a significant deterministic factor in plastisphere microbiome composition, which differed from surrounding soil communities and varied over time.

2022 Environmental Microbiology 48 citations
Article Tier 2

A multi-OMIC characterisation of biodegradation and microbial community succession within the PET plastisphere

Researchers performed a multi-omic analysis of bacterial communities colonizing PET plastic in marine environments, identifying microorganisms capable of degrading PET and characterizing the enzymatic pathways involved, advancing understanding of natural plastic biodegradation in ocean systems.

2021 Microbiome 123 citations
Article Tier 2

Deciphering the Mechanisms Shaping the Plastisphere Microbiota in Soil

Researchers characterized bacterial communities colonizing biodegradable and conventional microplastics in soil, finding that polymer type and biodegradability shaped distinct plastisphere communities, with deterministic processes playing a stronger role in community assembly than in surrounding soil.

2022 mSystems 100 citations
Article Tier 2

The SpatiotemporalSuccessions of Bacterial and FungalPlastisphere Communities and Their Effects on Microplastic Degradationin Soil Ecosystems

Researchers explored spatiotemporal succession of bacterial and fungal plastisphere communities on three microplastic types across three soil types over multiple time periods, finding that colonization environment was the dominant driver of plastisphere microbiome assembly, followed by polymer type and incubation time.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

The structure and assembly mechanisms of plastisphere microbial community in natural marine environment

Researchers investigated how microbial communities colonize different types of microplastic surfaces in natural marine environments over an eight-week period. They found that the composition of these plastic-associated microbial communities, known as the plastisphere, was shaped more by environmental conditions and time than by the specific type of plastic. The study provides new understanding of the ecological processes governing how microorganisms assemble on ocean plastic debris.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 227 citations
Article Tier 2

The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession

Researchers tracked bacterial community development on five different plastic types submerged in coastal waters over two months. They found that bacterial community composition varied by both plastic type and stage of colonization, with distinct early and late succession patterns. The study provides evidence that different plastics may host different microbial communities, which has implications for understanding how plastic pollution influences marine microbial ecology.

2019 PLoS ONE 296 citations
Article Tier 2

Dynamics and implications of biofilm formation and community succession on floating marine plastic debris

Researchers examined how biofilms form on plastic debris in aquatic environments and how the resulting microbial communities evolve over time, finding that the plastisphere hosts distinct microbial assemblages including potential pathogens. The study has implications for understanding plastic debris as a vector for microbial dispersal.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological Characterization of the Biofilms Colonizing Bioplastics in Natural Marine Conditions: A Comparison between PHBV and PLA

Researchers characterized biofilm communities colonizing bioplastics and conventional plastics in natural marine conditions, finding that bioplastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities compared to petroleum-based plastics, with implications for biodegradation and ecological interactions.

2023 Microorganisms 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Short‐term plastisphere colonization dynamics across six plastic types

Researchers studied the short-term colonization dynamics of microbial communities (plastisphere) forming on six plastic polymer types submerged in marine waters in South Australia, finding polymer-type-specific differences in prokaryotic community composition over four weeks.

2023 Environmental Microbiology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-series incubations in a coastal environment illuminates the importance of early colonizers and the complexity of bacterial biofilm dynamics on marine plastics

Researchers used time-series incubations in a coastal marine environment to track plastisphere biofilm formation on microplastics, finding that early bacterial colonizers play a disproportionate role in shaping community dynamics and that biofilm composition is highly complex, varying with polymer type, incubation time, and surrounding environment.

2022 Environmental Pollution 28 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

Structural and Functional Characteristics of Microplastic Associated Biofilms in Response to Temporal Dynamics and Polymer Types

Researchers found that biofilm structural and functional characteristics on microplastics differ significantly depending on polymer type (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) and change over time, with implications for understanding microbial colonization and the plastisphere.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Temporal succession of marine microbes drives plastisphere community convergence in subtropical coastal waters

Scientists tracked how microbial communities develop on four common plastic types submerged in subtropical coastal waters over 42 days. They found that the passage of time was a bigger driver of community composition than the type of plastic, with bacterial communities on different plastics becoming more similar as biofilms matured. However, these plastic-associated communities remained distinct from those floating freely in the water, suggesting plastics create unique microbial habitats in marine environments.

2024 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Composition and Functions of Plastic Microbiome Using Whole-Genome Sequencing

Whole-genome sequencing of microbial biofilms on four types of marine microplastics revealed that plastic surfaces harbor distinct microbial communities with unique functional potential, including enrichment of Vibrio species with pathogenic and plastic-degrading capabilities.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 126 citations
Article Tier 2

Dynamic evolution of microbial colonization on indoor microplastics: polymer diversity-driven co-occurrence networks and health risks

Researchers simulated 90 days of indoor microplastic exposure to study how different polymer types, aging, and morphology influence microbial colonization on microplastic surfaces. They found that polymer diversity shaped microbial co-occurrence networks and that the resulting plastisphere communities harbored potential human pathogens.

2025 Environment International
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

Microplastics as a New Ecological Niche For Multispecies Microbial Biofilms within the Plastisphere

This review examines microplastics as a novel ecological niche — the 'plastisphere' — analyzing how multispecies microbial biofilms colonize plastic surfaces, differ from surrounding environmental communities, and may facilitate biodegradation and horizontal gene transfer.

2022 Microbiology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Analyse métabolomique des communautés microbiennes de la plastisphère dans le continuum fleuve-mer

This study applies metabolomic analysis to characterize the microbial communities of the plastisphere along a river-to-sea continuum, examining how the microbial metabolism associated with plastic-colonizing biofilms changes across the transition from freshwater to marine environments.

2024 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Novel functional insights into the microbiome inhabiting marine plastic debris: critical considerations to counteract the challenges of thin biofilms using multi-omics and comparative metaproteomics

Researchers used advanced multi-omics techniques — simultaneously analyzing the DNA, proteins, and metabolic activity of microbes — to study the complex communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that colonize marine plastic debris (the "plastisphere"). The work reveals new ecological functions of these microbial films beyond plastic breakdown, including potential biotechnology applications and risks from pathogen hitchhiking on ocean plastic.

2024 Microbiome 21 citations
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

Novel functional insights into the microbiome inhabiting marine plastic debris: critical considerations to counteract the challenges of thin biofilms using multi-omics and comparative metaproteomics.

Researchers developed a comprehensive metaproteomics approach to study the microbial communities living on the surface of marine plastic debris, known as the plastisphere. The study reveals how microbes on plastic interact with each other and their environment, with implications for understanding how plastic-colonizing bacteria spread through the ocean.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial Abundance, Diversity and Activity During Long-Term Colonization of Non-biodegradable and Biodegradable Plastics in Seawater

Biofilm communities on conventional (polyethylene and polystyrene) and biodegradable plastics were tracked over 7 months of seawater immersion, finding highly abundant and diverse plastisphere communities on all polymer types but limited evidence of active plastic biodegradation under natural marine conditions.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 84 citations
Article Tier 2

The “Plastisphere” of Biodegradable Plastics Is Characterized by Specific Microbial Taxa of Alpine and Arctic Soils

Microbial communities colonizing biodegradable plastics in soil (the plastisphere of biodegradable materials) were characterized and compared to communities on conventional non-biodegradable plastics and bulk soil. Biodegradable plastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial assemblages enriched in polymer-degrading taxa, showing that material type shapes the plastisphere community even for plastics designed to decompose.

2020 Frontiers in Environmental Science 127 citations
Article Tier 2

The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil

Soil-buried plastic debris harbored microbial communities clearly distinct from surrounding bulk soil and from aquatic plastisphere communities, with a core set of plastic-colonizing taxa including Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria detected across both polymer types tested, suggesting that terrestrial plastisphere colonization follows predictable ecological rules.

2021 Microorganisms 70 citations