Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Complex interactions among temperature, microplastics and cyanobacteria may facilitate cyanobacteria proliferation and microplastic deposition

Researchers investigated how microplastics interact with temperature and nutrient conditions to affect cyanobacterial growth, finding that microplastics can alter cyanobacterial physiology and potentially exacerbate bloom formation under warming conditions.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of microplastics and excess boron on Microcystis aeruginosa

Researchers studied the combined effects of microplastics and excess boron on a common freshwater cyanobacterium (Microcystis aeruginosa). They found that amino-modified polystyrene microplastics were the most harmful, inhibiting growth and worsening boron toxicity, while other surface-modified types actually stimulated growth. The study reveals that the surface chemistry of microplastics plays a key role in how they interact with other pollutants to affect aquatic microorganisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Elucidation of Mechanisms by Which Microplastics (PET) Facilitates the Rapid Growth of Benthic Cyanobacteria and Toxin Production in Aquatic Ecosystems

This review examines how PET microplastics and their chemical leachates may promote the growth of benthic cyanobacteria in aquatic environments. The study suggests that PET-derived compounds can serve as carbon sources or signaling molecules that alter gene expression related to photosynthesis and stress responses, potentially contributing to harmful cyanobacterial blooms in plastic-polluted waters.

2025 Metabolites 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Finding the missing piece of the aquatic plastic pollution puzzle: Interaction between primary producers and microplastics

This review examines the understudied interactions between microplastics and aquatic primary producers such as algae and cyanobacteria. Evidence indicates that microplastics can alter photosynthesis, growth rates, gene expression, and colony morphology in these organisms, potentially through adhesion or transfer of adsorbed pollutants. The authors argue that understanding microplastic impacts on primary producers is a critical missing piece in assessing the full ecological consequences of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

2017 Limnology and Oceanography Letters 257 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-Occurrence of Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins with Other Environmental Health Hazards: Impacts and Implications

This review examined cases and evidence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria co-occurring with other environmental hazards including algal toxins, pathogens, metals, pesticides, and microplastics, documenting combined exposure scenarios and calling for more research on synergistic toxic effects.

2020 Toxins 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of cyanotoxins on polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate: Microplastics as vector of eight microcystin analogues

Eight microcystin analogues were tested for adsorption onto polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics, finding that these common plastics can bind cyanotoxins from freshwater environments. The study identifies microplastics as potential vectors for cyanobacterial toxins in lakes and reservoirs, with implications for drinking water safety.

2022 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic characteristics differentially influence cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom microbial community membership, growth, and toxin production

Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics influence the growth and toxin production of harmful algal blooms in freshwater. They found that certain microplastic characteristics, such as shape and polymer type, significantly affected which microbial species thrived and how much toxin was produced. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may play an underappreciated role in worsening harmful algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs.

2025 Sustainable Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of secondary PLA nanoplastics on two Cyanobateria: interaction with organic and inorganic contaminants.

Researchers tested the individual and combined effects of secondary polylactic acid (PLA) nanoplastics on two cyanobacteria species, examining interactions with organic and inorganic contaminants to evaluate the ecotoxicological risks posed by biodegradable plastics as they degrade in aquatic environments.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Effects of cyanotoxins on nitrogen transformation in aquaculture systems with microplastics coexposure: Adsorption behavior, bacterial communities and functional genes

Combined exposure of polystyrene and polylactic acid microplastics with microcystin-LR in simulated aquaculture ponds disrupted nitrogen transformation processes and shifted microbial communities, with adsorption behavior of the toxin on different MP types influencing overall ecotoxicity.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the Risks of Diffusion of Cyanobacteria Toxins in Rivers, Lakes, and Potable Water

This review covers the health risks of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) toxins found in rivers, lakes, and drinking water, which can damage the liver and nervous system in humans. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics in water can interact with cyanobacteria and their toxins, potentially serving as carriers that concentrate these harmful substances. The paper discusses various water treatment methods for removing cyanotoxins, many of which are also applicable to microplastic removal.

2023 Toxins 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics benefit bacteria colonization and induce microcystin degradation

Polystyrene microplastics in a microcosm experiment facilitated bacterial colonization and promoted the degradation of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin, with the plastisphere community showing distinct metabolic activity compared to free-living bacteria. The study reveals that microplastic biofilms can unexpectedly accelerate detoxification of co-occurring harmful algal bloom toxins.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioremediation of Microplastics by Cyanobacteria

This review examines the potential of cyanobacteria to bioremediate microplastic pollution, which has accumulated globally since the 1950s. Cyanobacteria can colonize plastic surfaces and contribute to plastic degradation, offering an eco-friendly pathway for reducing microplastic contamination in aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-occurrence of co-contaminants: Cyanotoxins and microplastics, in soil system and their health impacts on plant – A comprehensive review

This review examined the co-occurrence of cyanotoxins and micro/nanoplastics in soil systems, finding that both contaminants are globally distributed and that their interactions — including plastic acting as a vector for cyanotoxin transport — pose compound risks to plant health and food safety.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of the common freshwater cyanotoxin microcystin to microplastics

Researchers demonstrated that microplastics from freshwater environments can adsorb the harmful algal bloom toxin microcystin onto their surfaces, potentially concentrating the toxin and altering its environmental fate. This finding suggests that microplastics in lakes with cyanobacterial blooms may act as carriers for toxins that affect fish, wildlife, and humans.

2020 QSpace (Queen's University Library) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of secondary PLA nanoplastics on two Cyanobateria: interaction with organic and inorganic contaminants.

Researchers tested the individual and combined effects of secondary polylactic acid (PLA) nanoplastics on two cyanobacteria species, examining how biodegradable plastic degradation products interact with organic and inorganic contaminants in aquatic environments. The study addressed gaps in knowledge about the environmental impacts of biodegradable plastics and their potential toxicity to primary producers.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Fate, abundance and ecological risks of microcystins in aquatic environment: The implication of microplastics

This review explores how microplastics in water can interact with microcystins, highly toxic compounds produced by harmful algal blooms, by adsorbing and transporting them through aquatic environments. The combination poses increased risks to human health because microplastics can carry these dangerous toxins into drinking water sources and through the food chain.

2024 Water Research 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Microcystis aeruginosa's exposure to an antagonism of nanoplastics and MWCNTs: The disorders in cellular and metabolic processes

Researchers examined the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, discovering antagonistic interactions that disrupted cellular and metabolic processes in this freshwater organism.

2021 Chemosphere 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Zooming in the plastisphere: the ecological interface for phytoplankton–plastic interactions in aquatic ecosystems

This review examines the complex interactions between microplastics and phytoplankton in aquatic ecosystems, from toxic effects to colonization of plastic surfaces forming the so-called plastisphere. Researchers found that phytoplankton employ adaptive strategies such as extracellular polysaccharide production to cope with plastic-induced stress, while plastics can also serve as habitats for harmful algae and invasive species. The study highlights that these interactions can have cascading effects throughout aquatic food webs and ecosystem processes.

2024 Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 17 citations
Review Tier 2

A critical review of interactions between microplastics, microalgae and aquatic ecosystem function

This review of microplastic-microalgae interactions found that microplastics form distinct epiplastic algal communities that differ from surrounding water communities, and that the interactions are bidirectional — MP properties affect algal physiology while algal surface coatings alter MP behavior and fate.

2020 Water Research 412 citations
Article Tier 2

Microcystin bound on microplastics in eutrophic waters: A potential threat to zooplankton revealed by adsorption-desorption processes

Researchers studied adsorption and desorption of the cyanotoxin microcystin onto microplastics in eutrophic freshwater and found that microplastics can act as vectors carrying bound cyanotoxins to zooplankton, enhancing toxin transfer through the food web beyond what free toxin exposure alone would predict.

2023 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nano-plastics and microalgae in aquatic environment: Influence factor, interaction, and molecular mechanisms.

This review examined the interactions between micro/nanoplastics and microalgae in aquatic environments, summarizing how plastic particle size, surface chemistry, and co-pollutants influence algal toxicity through oxidative stress, photosynthesis inhibition, and gene expression changes.

2024 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastic stress intensifies Microcystis aeruginosa physiology and toxin risks under environmentally relevant water chemistry conditions

Researchers exposed the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa to environmentally relevant concentrations of micro- and nanoplastics, finding both significantly enhanced algal biomass and microcystin toxin production, with nanoplastics additionally promoting extracellular toxin release.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Cyanobacterial relative enrichment over diatoms: Differential responses of plankton to microplastic pollution in the Zhanghe River, Northern China

Researchers assessed microplastic pollution and its ecological impacts on plankton communities in the Zhanghe River, China, finding that fibrous polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyamide MPs increased from upstream to downstream and were significantly associated with cyanobacterial proliferation while inhibiting diatoms, with a synergistic interaction with total phosphorus potentially amplifying eutrophication risk.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of microplastics and lead on the freshwater algae Microcystis aeruginosa

Researchers tested the individual and combined effects of microplastics and lead (Pb) on the growth, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant responses of the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. They found that microplastics alone inhibited growth while low-dose Pb promoted it, but their combination altered toxicity outcomes in complex ways depending on concentration, indicating that co-exposure risks in freshwater cannot be predicted from single-contaminant studies.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 72 citations