Papers

61,005 results
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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

Bacterioplankton Community Structure and Its Relationship with Environmental Factors in the Coastal Waters Around the Changli Gold Coast National Nature Reserve in Northern China

Researchers investigated bacterioplankton community structure in coastal waters around a Chinese nature reserve, finding significant seasonal variability in nutrients and identifying key environmental drivers—including nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon—of bacterial community composition.

2025 Water
Article Tier 2

Responses of Free-Living Vibrio Community to Seasonal Environmental Variation in a Subtropical Inland Bay

Researchers used Vibrio-specific 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize seasonal distribution and diversity of free-living Vibrio communities in the Maowei Sea, finding that Shannon diversity peaked in summer while community composition shifted with temperature and nutrient availability, revealing how seasonal eutrophication shapes the dynamics of this pathogen-relevant bacterial genus.

2020 Frontiers in Microbiology 19 citations
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

Seasonal biofilm formation on floating microplastics in coastal waters of intensified marinculture area

Researchers investigated seasonal biofilm formation on floating polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in four coastal mariculture zones in southeast China, finding that biofilm bacterial community composition differed less between winter and summer than the surrounding planktonic bacteria. The results suggest biofilms on microplastics provide a buffering microenvironment that stabilizes bacterial communities across seasons.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 42 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

Bacterial Communities in Zostera marina Seagrass Beds of Northern China

Researchers characterized bacterial communities in Zostera marina seagrass beds in northern China, comparing microbiome composition between seagrass-associated and bare sediment sites. Seagrass beds supported distinct microbial communities with higher diversity and enrichment of nitrogen-cycling bacteria, highlighting the role of seagrass in structuring sediment microbiomes and nutrient cycling.

2024 Water 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonal Dynamics of Marine Bacterial Communities in Aquaculture Farms: The case of the Northern Ionian Coastal Ecosystem (Mediterranean Sea)

Researchers characterized seasonal bacterial community dynamics across three Greek aquaculture farms in the Mediterranean, finding lower microbial diversity at farm sites compared to controls, with season being the primary driver of community composition changes.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonal and Spatial Dynamics of Fungal Diversity and Communities in the Intertidal Zones of Qingdao, China

Researchers examined seasonal and spatial dynamics of fungal communities in intertidal zones of Qingdao, China, using DNA metabarcoding. The study found that sediment fungal communities shifted with both season and location, while seawater communities changed only seasonally, and unexpectedly, the lowest fungal diversity was observed during summer at swimming beaches with heavy tourist activity.

2023 Journal of Fungi 6 citations
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

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 mariculture-derived microplastics on bacterial biofilm formation and their potential threat to mariculture: A case in situ study on the Sungo Bay, China

Scientists examined biofilm colonization on mariculture-derived microplastics (fishing nets, foams, floats) in Sanggou Bay, China over 21 days and found distinct microbial communities including potential fish pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, raising concerns for mariculture safety.

2020 Environmental Pollution 105 citations
Article Tier 2

Contrasting the diversity patterns and processes of microbial community assembly in water and sediment in Lake Wuchang, China

This study investigated how bacterial communities are distributed between water and sediment in Lake Wuchang, China, finding that different ecological processes drive community assembly in each habitat. Understanding these microbial patterns helps clarify ecosystem function in freshwater lakes.

2022 Research Square (Research Square) 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Toward an intensive understanding of sewer sediment prokaryotic community assembly and function

Researchers characterized prokaryotic communities in sewer sediments across multifunctional, commercial, and residential urban areas using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, finding significant compositional differences linked to land use and nutrient levels. Network analysis revealed the residential area harbored the most complex and stable microbial network, while stochastic processes dominated community assembly across all zones.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics-based approach reveals the effects of microplastics on microbial abundance and function of sediments in Shenzhen coastal waters

Researchers used a multi-omics approach combining metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to investigate how microplastic contamination affects microbial community abundance and functional gene expression in coastal sediments from eastern and western Shenzhen, China. They found microplastic concentrations of 119 items per kilogram in eastern sediments and 664 items per kilogram in western sediments, with higher contamination sites showing significant shifts in microbial community composition and altered expression of genes involved in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 3 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

Community Composition and Function of Bacteria in Activated Sludge of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Researchers analyzed the bacterial communities in activated sludge from two municipal wastewater treatment plants in Shenzhen, China, using gene sequencing. They found that Proteobacteria dominated all samples and that nutrient levels and nitrogen compounds were the primary factors shaping microbial community structure. The study provides insights into how microbial communities function during wastewater treatment, which is relevant since these systems are known to both encounter and discharge microplastics.

2021 Water 59 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

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

Bacterial Diversity in Estuarine Sediments in Brazilian Coastal: a Focus in Bacterial Resistance

This paper is not about microplastics; it characterizes bacterial diversity and antibiotic resistance genes in estuarine sediments from Brazilian mangroves, examining how human effluents shape microbial communities.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Contaminant Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Heavy Metals in Seawater and Sediments in a Typical Mariculture Bay in South China

Researchers assessed heavy metal contamination in seawater and sediments of Qinzhou Bay, a major mariculture area in South China, finding seasonal variations in metal concentrations influenced by river input, aquaculture activities, and hydrodynamic conditions.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 25 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

Transferred Bacterial Community on the Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria among Aquatic Water, Plant Root, and Sediment When Planting with Chinese Herbs

This study used 16S rRNA sequencing to examine how traditional Chinese medicinal plants affect bacterial communities in aquaculture water, roots, and sediments. Understanding how plant-based treatments shift microbial ecology in fish farming environments informs sustainable aquaculture practices that reduce reliance on antibiotics linked to antibiotic resistance in the plastisphere.

2023 Environments
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