Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Short‐term plastisphere colonization dynamics across six plastic types

Researchers studied the short-term colonization dynamics of microbial communities (plastisphere) forming on six plastic polymer types submerged in marine waters in South Australia, finding polymer-type-specific differences in prokaryotic community composition over four weeks.

2023 Environmental Microbiology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Relative Influence of Plastic Debris Size and Shape, Chemical Composition and Phytoplankton-Bacteria Interactions in Driving Seawater Plastisphere Abundance, Diversity and Activity

This study evaluated the relative influence of plastic debris size, shape, chemical composition, and environmental conditions on the microbial communities colonizing ocean plastics (the plastisphere). Results showed that multiple plastic properties and environmental factors jointly shape which microorganisms colonize plastic surfaces in the marine environment.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 94 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

Investigating the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces

Researchers investigated the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces, examining how microbial communities interact with plastic polymers in environmental settings. The study characterized the 'plastisphere' — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces — and assessed the extent to which microbial activity contributes to plastic degradation in natural environments.

2024
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Water Research 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Temporal succession of marine microbes drives plastisphere community convergence in subtropical coastal waters

Scientists tracked how microbial communities develop on four common plastic types submerged in subtropical coastal waters over 42 days. They found that the passage of time was a bigger driver of community composition than the type of plastic, with bacterial communities on different plastics becoming more similar as biofilms matured. However, these plastic-associated communities remained distinct from those floating freely in the water, suggesting plastics create unique microbial habitats in marine environments.

2024 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Differentiation of bacterial communities on five common plastics after six days of exposure to Caribbean coastal waters

Researchers found that within just six days of entering Caribbean coastal waters, different plastic polymers — including polystyrene, polyethylene, and nylon — develop distinct microbial communities on their surfaces, with plastic-degrading bacteria rapidly increasing in abundance. This "plastisphere" research shows that the type of plastic influences which microbes colonize it, which could affect both plastic breakdown rates and the spread of microbes in ocean environments.

2024 Environmental Advances 3 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Environmental Pollution 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Evidence for selective bacterial community structuring on microplastics

Plastic substrates incubated in Baltic Sea water developed distinct bacterial communities that differed significantly from those on glass surfaces and from the surrounding water, with some plastic-colonizing taxa selected for regardless of polymer type. The study provides experimental evidence that plastic surfaces act as selective filters for microbial community assembly, contributing to the concept of a unique plastisphere.

2018 Environmental Microbiology 358 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters

Researchers investigated how microbial biofilm communities on marine plastics vary by season, location, and plastic type in Northern European waters. The study found distinct spatial and seasonal patterns in plastisphere microbial communities on polyethylene terephthalate surfaces, providing insights into how plastic debris develops unique biological communities in marine environments.

2014 FEMS Microbiology Ecology 515 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbes on a Bottle: Substrate, Season and Geography Influence Community Composition of Microbes Colonizing Marine Plastic Debris

Researchers studied bacterial communities colonizing plastic bottles in marine environments, finding that substrate type, season, and geographic location all influenced which microbes colonized the plastic surface.

2016 PLoS ONE 542 citations
Article Tier 2

Community Composition and Seasonal Dynamics of Microplastic Biota in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Researchers described the seasonal dynamics and community composition of microplastic-associated microbial communities across different environments, finding that temperature and nutrient availability influenced plastisphere diversity. The study contributes to understanding how environmental conditions shape biofilm formation on plastic debris.

2024
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

Formation of specific bacterial assemblages on sterile polyethylene microplastic particles added to a marine aquaria system

Researchers characterized bacterial assemblages that formed on sterile polyethylene microplastic particles after 12 weeks of incubation in marine aquaria, comparing the plastisphere communities to those on sterile sandy sediment and in water fractions to determine whether microplastics select for distinct or potentially pathogenic bacterial communities. The study found that microplastics hosted specific bacterial assemblages distinct from surrounding environmental fractions, confirming their role as selective surfaces for microbial colonization.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of 16S rRNA amplicon data illuminates the major role of environment in determining the marine plastisphere microbial communities

By reanalyzing publicly available microbiome data from marine microplastics collected at multiple ocean locations, this study found that the surrounding water environment shapes the community of microbes living on plastic surfaces (the plastisphere) more strongly than the type of plastic polymer does. While both location and polymer type matter, once environmental differences were accounted for, polymer type alone had no statistically significant effect on microbial diversity. This is important because microplastics can carry and transport harmful microbes across vast ocean distances, and understanding what controls those communities helps assess the ecological risk.

2024 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental exposure more than plastic composition shapes marine microplastic‐associated bacterial communities in Pacific versus Caribbean field incubations

Researchers incubated six types of household plastic polymers in Pacific and Caribbean coastal waters to study the bacterial communities that form on microplastics. They found that geographic location and exposure time were far more important than plastic type in shaping these microbial communities. The study identified a core plastisphere of 57 bacterial variants common across all conditions, suggesting environmental context plays a bigger role than plastic composition in microplastic colonization.

2023 Environmental Microbiology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Environmental Microbiology 48 citations
Article Tier 2

The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession

Researchers tracked bacterial community development on five different plastic types submerged in coastal waters over two months. They found that bacterial community composition varied by both plastic type and stage of colonization, with distinct early and late succession patterns. The study provides evidence that different plastics may host different microbial communities, which has implications for understanding how plastic pollution influences marine microbial ecology.

2019 PLoS ONE 296 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Figshare