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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Year-Long Microbial Succession on Microplastics in Wastewater: Chaotic Dynamics Outweigh Preferential Growth
ClearTracking the Evolution of Microbial Communities on Microplastics through a Wastewater Treatment Process: Insight into the “Plastisphere”
Researchers tracked how bacterial communities form and evolve on polystyrene microplastics as they pass through primary, secondary, and tertiary stages of wastewater treatment. They found that biofilms on the microplastics harbored greater bacterial diversity than surrounding water, with certain pioneer species facilitating further microbial colonization. The study reveals that bacteria attached to microplastics become more resistant to treatment processes than free-floating bacteria, raising concerns about microplastics as carriers of potentially harmful microbes in treated effluent.
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.
Contribution of stochastic processes to the microbial community assembly on field‐collected microplastics
Researchers found that stochastic processes played a greater role than deterministic factors in shaping bacterial community assembly on field-collected microplastics in the Hangzhou Bay estuary, challenging assumptions about the distinctiveness of the plastisphere.
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.
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.
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.
Microbial Succession on Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Exploring the Complexities of Microplastic-Microbiome Interactions
This review examines how different microorganisms colonize microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plants, forming communities called biofilms that change as the treatment process progresses. These biofilms can include harmful bacteria and antibiotic-resistant organisms that ride on microplastics through the treatment process and into the environment. The findings are concerning because microplastics leaving treatment plants could carry disease-causing microbes into waterways used for drinking and recreation.
Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics
Analysis of microplastics and their biofilms across raw sewage, effluent, and sludge at two wastewater treatment plants found that >99% of influent MPs were retained in sludge, and that wastewater treatment substantially altered biofilm microbial composition, enriching bioflocculation-associated taxa.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Taxonomic variation, plastic degradation, and antibiotic resistance traits of plastisphere communities in the maturation pond of a wastewater treatment plant
Researchers placed different types of weathered plastics in a wastewater treatment pond for up to a year and studied the microbial communities that grew on them. The study suggests that the bacteria colonizing plastics in wastewater were shaped more by time and water depth than by the type of plastic, and that these communities may carry genes related to plastic degradation and antibiotic resistance.
Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics released to the environment
This study found that the type of microbes colonizing microplastics changes significantly after they pass through wastewater treatment, with treated microplastics carrying a different and potentially less harmful microbial community. Understanding how treatment affects the 'plastisphere' is important for assessing the ecological risk of microplastics released into waterways.
Environmental Factors Support the Formation of Specific Bacterial Assemblages on Microplastics
Researchers incubated polystyrene, polyethylene, and wooden pellets across marine and freshwater environments and found that environmental conditions — more than plastic type — drove the formation of specific bacterial communities on microplastics, with plastic-specific assemblages only emerging under certain conditions.
Selective microbial attachment to LDPE plastic beads during passage through the wastewater network
Researchers tracked how microbial communities colonize plastic beads as they travel through different stages of a wastewater treatment plant. They found that distinct bacterial communities selectively attached to the plastic surfaces at each treatment stage, differing from the microbes in the surrounding water. The study reveals that microplastics passing through wastewater systems accumulate unique microbial hitchhikers that could carry pathogens or antibiotic-resistant bacteria into the environment.
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.
Microplastic biofilm in fresh- and wastewater as a function of microparticle type and size class
Researchers compared the biofilm communities that form on microplastics of different types and sizes in both freshwater and wastewater, finding that biofilm composition was influenced by particle type, size, and water source. These findings advance understanding of the plastisphere — the microbial community unique to plastic surfaces — and its potential role in spreading microorganism-associated risks.
Divergent biofilm colonization on plastics in wastewater: Accelerated maturation on polyamide versus growth inhibition on biodegradable polymers
Researchers tracked 30-day biofilm formation on three plastic types in simulated wastewater, finding that polyamide promoted rapid, robust microbial colonization via nitrogen enrichment, while biodegradable PBAT/PLA plastic initially attracted bacteria but then inhibited sustained growth due to toxic leachates — demonstrating that plastic chemistry shapes plastisphere ecology in wastewater treatment.
Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on plastic debris: The localization of immigrant bacterial communities
Researchers investigated the colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on plastic debris in environmental settings, finding that the localization of immigrant bacterial communities on plastic surfaces reflects specific colonization dynamics distinct from random sampling effects.
High-throughput absolute quantification sequencing reveals the adaptive succession and assembly pattern of plastisphere communities in municipal sewer systems: Influence of environmental factors and microplastic polymer types
Microplastics in municipal sewer systems develop their own distinct microbial communities (the 'plastisphere') that are shaped both by the type of plastic polymer and by environmental conditions like temperature and nutrient levels. The study found that different plastic types selectively enriched different microbes, including potential pathogens, meaning sewers could be hotspots for microplastic-mediated spread of harmful bacteria into waterways. This research highlights an understudied but practically important dimension of urban microplastic contamination.
Lacustrine plastisphere: Distinct succession and assembly processes of prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities and role of site, time, and polymer types
Researchers investigated how microbial communities colonize different types of microplastic polymers in freshwater lakes. The study found that bacteria and single-celled organisms follow distinct assembly patterns on microplastic surfaces, with colonization time, location, and polymer type all influencing community composition. These findings suggest microplastics serve as carriers that can promote microbial spread in aquatic environments.
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.
Combined environmental pressure induces unique assembly patterns of micro-plastisphere biofilm microbial communities in constructed wetlands
Researchers studied how biofilm communities form on microplastic surfaces within constructed wetlands used for wastewater treatment. They found that environmental stressors like antibiotics and organic matter created unique microbial communities on microplastics that differed from those on natural surfaces. The study suggests that constructed wetlands, while effective at trapping microplastics, may also foster distinct microbial ecosystems on plastic surfaces that warrant further investigation.