Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-associated bacterial assemblages in the intertidal zone of the Yangtze Estuary

Researchers used high-throughput DNA sequencing to profile bacterial communities colonizing microplastics in the intertidal zone of China's Yangtze Estuary, finding that plastisphere community composition reflected the particles' sedimentary versus aquatic origins and included keystone taxa adapted to surface-colonization as well as potential pathogens hitchhiking on plastic surfaces.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 356 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution and its relationship with the bacterial community in coastal sediments near Guangdong Province, South China

This study systematically characterized microplastic pollution in coastal sediments near Guangdong Province, China, and found that microplastic abundance was linked to changes in the local bacterial community. Higher microplastic levels were associated with shifts in microbial diversity, suggesting plastic pollution can alter the microbial ecology of marine sediments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine microplastic-associated bacterial community succession in response to geography, exposure time, and plastic type in China's coastal seawaters

Researchers used high-throughput gene sequencing to track how microbial communities on polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics changed over a full year in Chinese coastal waters. They found that the composition of plastic-associated bacterial communities varied significantly across geographic locations and over time, with Alphaproteobacteria being consistently dominant. The study reveals that the plastisphere is a dynamic ecosystem shaped by both environmental conditions and the duration of exposure.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 155 citations
Article Tier 2

Substrate-driven microbial diversity and functional potential of plastisphere biofilms in a dynamic coastal ecosystem of northeastern Taiwan

Researchers used full-length 16S rRNA sequencing to compare microbial communities on floating microplastics, natural wood debris, and surface seawater from ten coastal sites in Taiwan, finding that microplastics harbor unique and highly diverse microbial assemblages distinct from those on natural surfaces.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Colonization Characteristics of Bacterial Communities on Plastic Debris Influenced by Environmental Factors and Polymer Types in the Haihe Estuary of Bohai Bay, China

Bacterial communities colonizing plastic debris in the Haihe Estuary of Bohai Bay, China, were shaped by both environmental factors (season, salinity, temperature) and the type of plastic polymer, with distinct microbial assemblages forming on different plastic surfaces. The results demonstrate that the "plastisphere" in estuarine environments is a dynamically structured microbial habitat.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 257 citations
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

Plastisphere assemblages differ from the surrounding bacterial communities in transitional coastal environments

Researchers found that bacterial communities colonizing plastic particles (the plastisphere) in Portuguese estuarine and beach environments were significantly different from those in surrounding water and sediments, with plastic type and environmental conditions influencing microbial community composition.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Are bacterial communities associated with microplastics influenced by marine habitats?

A three-month field exposure experiment on a Chinese island compared bacterial communities on polyethylene and PET microplastics in three marine habitats (intertidal, supralittoral, seawater), finding that habitat significantly shaped community structure but polymer type had a weaker influence.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on microplastics compared with ambient environments (water and sediment) in Haihe Estuary

Bacterial communities colonizing microplastics in Haihe Estuary sediments and water were found to differ substantially from ambient environmental communities, with microplastics selecting for distinct bacterial assemblages including potential pathogens. This confirms that microplastics create ecological niches that alter microbial ecology in estuarine environments.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 144 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

Characteristics of microplastics in different media in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Researchers characterized microplastics in water, sediment, and biological samples from Jiaozhou Bay in China, finding plastics across all environmental compartments. The study documents spatial variation in contamination and highlights the bay as a site of significant plastic accumulation linked to nearby urban and industrial activity.

2023
Article Tier 2

Diversity and succession of microbial communities on typical microplastics in Xincun Bay, a long-term mariculture tropical lagoon

Researchers tracked microbial community succession on polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene microplastics over 60 days in a tropical mariculture lagoon, finding that plastisphere bacterial diversity exceeded that of surrounding seawater and that community structure shifted significantly over time.

2022 Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies 7 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

Characteristics of microplastics in different matrices in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Researchers characterized microplastics across multiple matrices (water, sediment, organisms) in Jiaozhou Bay, China to understand coastal pollution patterns. They found widespread microplastic contamination with distinct distribution profiles linked to coastal human activities and identified sources to support pollution mitigation strategies.

2025
Article Tier 2

[Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Sediments of Xiamen Bay Beach].

Researchers collected layered sediment samples (0-30 cm depth) at high, mid, and low tide lines across five beaches in Xiamen Bay, China, characterising the horizontal and vertical distribution, abundance, and pollution characteristics of microplastics across 45 sediment samples.

2022 PubMed 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination and microbial colonization in coastal area of Busan City, Korea

Researchers investigated microplastic concentrations, characteristics, and associated microbial communities across six coastal sites in Busan, South Korea, finding average concentrations of 94 particles/m3 dominated by PE, PP, and PS polymers, and using 16S rRNA sequencing to demonstrate that MP-associated bacterial communities were distinct from surrounding seawater, enriched in Psychrobacter, Pseudomonas, and Flavobacterium.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and spatial distribution of microplastics in sediments from Norderney

Researchers surveyed sediments from Norderney in the North Sea and found widespread microplastic contamination, documenting spatial distribution patterns and particle characteristics across this tidally influenced coastal environment.

2014 Environmental Pollution 608 citations
Article Tier 2

The geographical and seasonal effects on the composition of marine microplastic and its microbial communities: The case study of Israel and Portugal

Researchers compared microplastic-associated microbial communities in marine environments of Israel and Portugal, finding that both geography and season significantly influence the composition of the plastisphere and its associated bacterial species.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

An In Situ Study to Understand Community Structure of Estuarine Microbes on the Plastisphere

Researchers performed 16S rRNA sequencing on biofilms from three microplastic polymer types and glass bead controls deployed in Baltimore Inner Harbor over 28 days, finding that plastisphere communities were taxonomically distinct from free-living microbial communities but that polymer type did not significantly differentiate community composition, with Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, and sulfate-reducing bacteria among the notable colonizers.

2022 Microorganisms 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the bacterial community composition of the plastisphere in diverse environments of a coastal salt marsh

Researchers conducted a year-long field experiment examining microbial communities that colonize different types of microplastics in a Chinese coastal salt marsh across three distinct habitat zones. They found that the type of plastic polymer and the surrounding environment both significantly influenced the composition of the bacterial communities growing on the plastic surfaces. The study reveals that bio-based plastics like polylactic acid harbored distinctly different microbial communities compared to petroleum-based plastics like polyethylene.

2024 Environmental Pollution 12 citations
Article Tier 2

The distribution and ecological effects of microplastics in an estuarine ecosystem

Researchers surveyed 22 intertidal sites and found that microplastic abundance, size, and diversity correlated with benthic microalgal communities and sediment biostabilization properties in an estuarine ecosystem.

2021 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Improving bacterial metagenomic research through long read sequencing

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper compares short-read and long-read DNA sequencing strategies for analyzing microbial communities (metagenomics), with no connection to plastic pollution.

2023
Article Tier 2

[Distribution Characteristics of Microplastic Surface Bacterial Communities Under Flooded and Non-flooded Conditions in Nanjishan Wetland of Poyang Lake].

A 16S sequencing study of bacterial communities in the Poyang Lake wetland found that microbial diversity on microplastic surfaces was lower than in surrounding sediment and water, with the microplastic biofilm community shifting between sediment-like (non-flooded) and water-like (flooded) profiles depending on water level. The plastisphere communities were dominated by distinct bacterial genera including elevated Proteobacteria, suggesting that microplastics select for specific microbial assemblages in natural wetland ecosystems.

2023 PubMed
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