Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Unlocking secrets of microbial ecotoxicology: recent achievements and future challenges

This review explores how microorganisms interact with environmental pollutants, including microplastics, covering how bacteria can break down pollutants but are also harmed by them. The authors highlight that microplastics create new surfaces in the environment where bacteria form communities, potentially spreading harmful species or antibiotic resistance. Understanding these microbial interactions is critical for developing nature-based solutions to reduce pollution and protect human health.

2023 FEMS Microbiology Ecology 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological perspectives on the effects of microplastics on the aquatic environment

This review examines how microplastics interact with microorganisms in aquatic environments, highlighting risks to microbial communities and the potential for microplastics to disrupt ecosystem functions. Microplastics may alter microbial diversity and promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2019 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation in experimental studies with microparticles: Bacterial communities in the exposure system affect animal responses to the test particles

Researchers found that bacterial communities established by the test animals themselves in exposure vessels significantly influenced how aquatic organisms responded to microplastic particles in laboratory studies. The findings highlight a frequently overlooked confounding factor in ecotoxicological experiments with particulate materials.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and their interactions with microbiota

This review examines how microplastics interact with microbiota (the communities of microorganisms in the environment and in living bodies). Microplastics can carry harmful bacteria and disrupt the natural balance of microbial communities in soil, water, and the human gut. The disruption of gut microbiota by microplastics is particularly concerning because a healthy gut microbiome is essential for immune function, digestion, and overall health.

2023 Heliyon 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and Ecotoxicological Evolution of Microplastics in Soil Ecosystem

This review discusses methods for quantifying microplastics in soil and aquatic sediments and assesses their ecotoxicological effects on invertebrates, plants, and microbes, finding that MPs impair soil function and food web dynamics across concentration ranges commonly found in contaminated environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Systematical review of interactions between microplastics and microorganisms in the soil environment

This review explores interactions between microplastics and microorganisms in soil environments. Researchers found that microplastics pose a threat to the survival and reproduction of soil microbiota, but that soil microorganisms also show potential for degrading and mineralizing microplastic particles, suggesting possible biological pathways for microplastic remediation in terrestrial ecosystems.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 319 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Evaluation of Effects of Some Environmental Pollutants on Intestinal Microbiota: Traditional Review

This review examines how various environmental pollutants affect the gut microbiome — the community of microorganisms in the intestinal tract. Microplastics are among the pollutants discussed, and their ability to alter gut microbiota composition is increasingly recognized as a mechanism by which plastic particles may harm human and animal health.

2023 Journal of Literature Pharmacy Sciences
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and soil microbiomes

This review examines the two-way relationship between microplastics and soil microbiomes: how microplastics alter microbial community structure and function, and how soil microbes in turn affect the behavior of microplastics. Researchers found that microplastics can shift microbial communities and disrupt key ecosystem processes like nutrient cycling. The study also discusses how certain soil microbes may enhance the degradation of microplastics, pointing to potential natural remediation pathways.

2025 BMC Biology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Impacts and Microbial-Mediated Degradation Processes of Microplastics

This review explores both the harmful effects of microplastics on living organisms and the potential of microorganisms to break them down. Researchers summarize how microplastics accumulate through food chains from aquatic environments to humans, posing risks to food safety. The study highlights microbial degradation as a promising sustainable alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods for addressing plastic pollution.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Toxic and Radioactive Waste 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between microplastics and microorganism as well as gut microbiota: A consideration on environmental animal and human health

This review explores how microplastics interact with microorganisms in the environment and within the gut, examining implications for both animal and human health. Researchers found that microplastics can alter gut microbiota composition, promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and amplify the toxicity of other environmental pollutants. The study suggests that the interaction between microplastics and gut microorganisms is an important emerging area for understanding health risks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 405 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics' Ecotoxicological Assessment and Quantification in the Soil Ecosystem

This review examines the ecotoxicological effects and quantification methods for microplastics in soil ecosystems, synthesizing studies that have detected microplastics in agricultural soils, remote terrestrial environments, and other soil types to assess risks to soil-dwelling organisms.

2025
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on soil microorganisms and microbial functions in nutrients and carbon cycling – A review

This review examines how microplastics in soil alter the communities of bacteria and fungi that are essential for recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. Microplastics can increase certain beneficial bacteria but decrease others that are important for soil fertility, and they also carry toxic chemicals that further disrupt microbial life. The authors note that most studies are short-term lab experiments, and long-term field studies are needed to understand real-world impacts.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 174 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbes drive metabolism, community diversity, and interactions in response to microplastic-induced nutrient imbalance

Researchers investigated how conventional and biodegradable microplastics alter soil nutrient balances and the resulting effects on microbial metabolism, community diversity, and species interactions. The study found that microplastic-induced nutrient imbalances significantly influenced soil microbial processes, with different types of microplastics producing distinct effects on carbon and nitrogen cycling.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics influence the health and microbiota of aquatic invertebrates: A review

This review examines how microplastics affect the health and microbiota of aquatic invertebrates, an area that has received less attention than fish studies. Researchers summarize evidence showing that microplastics cause toxicity at biological and molecular levels, alter microbial communities associated with invertebrate hosts, and interact with climate change and other pollutants to produce combined effects. The study highlights significant knowledge gaps and proposes future research directions for understanding microplastic impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics negatively affect soil fauna but stimulate microbial activity: insights from a field-based microplastic addition experiment

A meta-analysis of microplastic studies found that microplastics negatively affect soil fauna abundance and diversity while stimulating soil microbial activity, based on data from multiple laboratory experiments. The opposing effects on fauna and microbes suggest that microplastics can shift soil community structure in ways that alter ecosystem functions like decomposition and nutrient cycling.

2020 Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 196 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in plant-microbes-soil system: A review on recent studies

This review examined microplastic interactions within the plant-microbe-soil system, finding that microplastics affect soil physicochemical properties, alter microbial communities, and can be taken up by plants, with implications for food safety and ecosystem health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics and Microplastic: A Major Risk Factor to the Soil, Water and Marine Environments

This paper reviews the risks microplastics pose to soil, freshwater, and marine environments, including effects on soil microbial communities, aquatic organisms, and human health through the food chain. It identifies bacterial communities and biotransformation processes as critical factors in understanding microplastic fate.

2019 Current Biotechnology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro-by-Micro Interactions: How Microorganisms Influence the Fate of Marine Microplastics

This review examines how microorganisms interact with microplastics in water environments, affecting the transport, breakdown, and toxicity of plastic particles. Microbes colonize plastic surfaces rapidly, altering particle density, chemical composition, and how likely organisms are to ingest them, which has major implications for ecosystem exposure.

2019 Preprints.org 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Ecotoxicity: a Review

This short review summarizes how microplastics harm aquatic microorganisms, including bacteria, algae, and protozoa, drawing on the statistic that over 5 trillion plastic pieces currently contaminate the ocean. It covers the main types and size ranges of plastic waste and their ecotoxic effects on microbial communities. Understanding impacts on microbes matters because these organisms form the base of aquatic food webs and drive nutrient cycling that supports all marine life.

2023 INTERANTIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions

Researchers tested how different microplastic properties, including concentration, shape, and polymer type, affect microbial communities and ecosystem functions in freshwater environments. They found that the presence of an invertebrate consumer had a stronger influence on microbial activity than the microplastics themselves, though high concentrations of certain particle shapes did alter community composition. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics in freshwater depend heavily on the broader biological context.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-dependent effects of microplastics on soil bacteriome

Researchers studied how six common types of microplastics affect soil bacteria over time at realistic contamination levels. The effects were slow to appear due to the chemical stability of plastics, but over time, microplastics altered bacterial community structure and soil functions in ways that differed by plastic type. This matters because changes to soil bacteria can affect nutrient cycling and crop health, with potential downstream effects on food quality.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on trophic parameters, abundance and metabolic activities of seawater and fish gut bacteria in mesocosm conditions

Mesocosm experiments showed that microplastics altered bacterial community structure and metabolic activity in both seawater and fish guts, suggesting that plastic pollution can disrupt microbial ecosystems in the marine environment. The findings raise concerns about how microplastic-driven microbiome changes could affect fish health and broader ecosystem functioning.

2018 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Microbes in Microplastic Removal and Its Effect on Human Health

This review examines the role of microbes in microplastic removal from environmental matrices and food systems, covering both degradation pathways and the health implications of microplastic-microbiome interactions for humans and other organisms.

2025
Article Tier 2

Global perspective of ecological risk of plastic pollution on soil microbial communities

This review examined how plastic pollution affects soil microbial communities worldwide, looking at factors like plastic type, size, and soil conditions. The researchers highlight that current studies often use unrealistically high plastic concentrations and short exposure times, making it hard to predict real-world impacts. They call for more field-based research, especially on nanoplastics and their effects on soil food webs and ecosystem functions.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 7 citations