Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Comparative analysis of microplastic and microbial communities in varied aquatic environments: Disparities in occurrence, interconnections, and ecological implications

Comparative surveys of microplastics and associated microbial communities across river, reservoir, and bay environments in the Dongjiang watershed found that MP abundance and microbial community composition differed significantly by water type, with MP surfaces hosting distinct microbial assemblages.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effect of Microplastics on Microbial Succession at Impaired and Unimpaired Sites in a Riverine System

Researchers compared microbial biofilm diversity on microplastic polymers and natural substrates at impaired and unimpaired riverine sites, examining how environmental nutrient loads, seasonality, and geography influence microbiome succession on plastic surfaces in freshwater ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic Litter in Urban Freshwater Ecosystems: Distribution and Microbial Interactions

Researchers quantified anthropogenic litter in urban rivers and streams and found that microplastics dominated by mass and particle count compared to macroplastic items. The study highlights urban freshwater systems as major conduits for plastic pollution moving toward marine environments and documents distinct microbial communities on plastic surfaces.

2014 PLoS ONE 287 citations
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

Impact de la pollution plastique sur les communautés microbiennes de rivière

This study investigates how plastic pollution affects microbial communities in rivers, focusing on the 'plastisphere' — the distinct biofilm communities that form on plastic surfaces in aquatic environments. Plastics not only carry unique microbial assemblages but may also harbor potentially harmful microorganisms, raising concerns for aquatic ecosystem health.

2023 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Bacterial community structure of water, sediment and microplastics in Poyang Lake wetland.

This study compared the bacterial communities living on four types of microplastics (film, foam, fiber, and fragment) in Poyang Lake wetland in China against the bacterial communities in the surrounding water and sediment. The microplastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities that differed from both the water and sediment, with foam microplastics supporting the least diverse communities. This "plastisphere" research is important because the unique bacteria colonizing plastic surfaces could spread pathogens or alter nutrient cycles in freshwater wetland ecosystems.

2023 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Microplastic is an Abundant and Distinct Microbial Habitat in an Urban River

Researchers demonstrated that microplastic surfaces in an urban river host a microbial community that is distinct from surrounding water and sediment communities, establishing microplastic as an abundant and ecologically distinct habitat for river microorganisms.

2014 Environmental Science & Technology 1428 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in the Yangtze River Basin: Heterogeneity of abundances and characteristics in different environments

Researchers compiled microplastic data from 624 sampling sites across the Yangtze River Basin covering water, sediment, soil, and biota, revealing heterogeneous contamination patterns driven by local land use, population density, and wastewater infrastructure.

2021 Environmental Pollution 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere in a low-pollution mountain river: Influence of microplastics on survival of pathogenic bacteria

Microplastics submerged in a low-pollution mountain river developed distinct bacterial communities compared to water and sand, but the plastisphere did not enhance pathogen survival, suggesting that in clean river environments microplastics may not substantially increase pathogen persistence.

2024 Chemosphere 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of microplastic pollution and analysis of colonized-microbiota in a freshwater aquaculture system.

Researchers found microplastics averaging 288.53 items per liter in freshwater aquaculture ponds in China, dominated by transparent fibers and cellulose particles, and discovered that bacterial communities on microplastic surfaces had significantly higher species richness and diversity than those in surrounding water. The plastisphere communities were enriched with Proteobacteria, including cellulose-degrading and potentially pathogenic species.

2022 Environmental Pollution 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Longitudinal patterns of microplastic concentration and bacterial assemblages in surface and benthic habitats of an urban river

This study measured microplastic concentrations and microbial communities in a river from source to mouth, finding that both plastic levels and unique plastisphere bacterial communities increased downstream of wastewater treatment plant outflows. The results identify wastewater discharge as a key driver of both microplastic loading and microbial community shifts in rivers.

2017 Freshwater Science 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial distribution and vertical characteristics of microplastics in the urban river: The case of Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China

Researchers investigated the spatial distribution and vertical characteristics of microplastics in the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. The study found an average concentration of about 668 microplastic items per liter, with abundance patterns varying between surface and deep water at different points along the river, and identified correlations between microplastic presence and shifts in microbial community structure.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial analysis of the influence on “microplastic communities” in the water at a medium scale

Spatial analysis of microplastic communities in Hubei Province, China found that microplastics were more abundant in rivers than lakes (average 1.74 items/L), negatively correlated with distance from residential areas, and that anthropogenic land cover increased abundance while natural vegetation decreased it.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution alters bacterial community in hyporheic sediments: A case study from the Beiluo River Basin

Researchers surveyed microplastics in hyporheic zone sediments (the biologically active layer beneath riverbeds) of China's Beiluo River and found that PET fragments smaller than 30 µm dominated, with polymer type and particle size driving distinct shifts in bacterial community composition and suppressing overall microbial diversity.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
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

Distinctive patterns of bacterial community succession in the riverine micro-plastisphere in view of biofilm development and ecological niches

Scientists studied how bacterial communities develop on microplastics versus natural materials in river water and found that plastics support a distinct pattern of microbial colonization. The research identified specific bacteria capable of degrading microplastics and revealed that competition among microbes on plastic surfaces follows unexpected patterns compared to natural substrates.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on microbial community in sediments of the Huangjinxia Reservoir—water source of a water diversion project in western China

Researchers examined microplastic contamination and its effects on microbial communities in sediments of the Huangjinxia Reservoir in western China, investigating how microplastic presence alters the composition and function of microbial assemblages in this drinking water source.

2020 Chemosphere 97 citations
Article Tier 2

In situ Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Communities on Microplastic Particles in a Small Headwater Stream in Germany

Researchers characterized prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities colonizing microplastic particles in a German headwater stream, finding distinct plastisphere biofilms enriched in specific bacterial taxa compared to surrounding water and natural substrates.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on microplastics in riverine waters of the Pearl River Delta, China

Microbial biofilm communities on microplastics in Pearl River Delta waterways showed distinct composition and diversity compared to surrounding water and natural surfaces, with river environmental conditions more influential than plastic polymer type in shaping biofilm structure.

2021 Chemosphere 62 citations
Article Tier 2

[Microplastics-Induced Shifts of Diversity and Abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in River Water].

This Chinese study used high-throughput quantitative PCR to measure how different microplastic types affect the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in river water. Polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics both increased the overall abundance of resistance genes, supporting concerns that microplastics act as reservoirs and spreaders of antibiotic resistance in freshwater systems.

2020 PubMed 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution differences in freshwater river according to stream order: Insights from spatial distribution, annual load, and ecological assessment

Researchers compared microplastic pollution levels in a freshwater river across different land-use zones, finding higher concentrations near urban and agricultural areas than in forested regions. Fiber-type microplastics were predominant across all sampling locations.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial Community Structure and Its Influencing Factors in Surface Sediments of the Nyang River in the Dry Season, China

Researchers analyzed bacterial community diversity in surface sediments of the Nyang River in Tibet using high-throughput sequencing, finding that climate warming and human activities along this plateau river have measurably shaped microbial composition and structure.

2023 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Urbanization on Antibiotic Resistome in Different Microplastics: Evidence from a Large-Scale Whole River Analysis

Researchers conducted a large-scale river survey across urbanization gradients and characterized antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics from each zone, finding that urbanization level strongly predicted the diversity and abundance of resistance genes on plastic surfaces.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic substrate and residual time of microplastics in the urban river shape the composition and structure of bacterial communities in plastisphere

Researchers conducted an in-site incubation experiment in an urban river using microplastics from three plastic product types (garbage bags, shopping bags, and plastic bottles), finding that both plastic substrate type and incubation time shaped the bacterial communities colonizing the plastisphere. Different plastic products harbored distinct microbial communities, with potential implications for the spread of plastic-associated microorganisms in urban freshwater.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 22 citations