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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Distinct microbial communities in the microplastisphere of inland wetlands: Diversity, composition, co-occurrence networks, and functions.
ClearThe ecology of the plastisphere: Microbial composition, function, assembly, and network in the freshwater and seawater ecosystems
Researchers studied the communities of bacteria and fungi that colonize microplastic surfaces in freshwater and seawater, forming what scientists call the plastisphere. These microplastic-associated communities were distinctly different from those in surrounding water, and included a higher proportion of disease-causing organisms and species involved in pollutant degradation. The findings suggest that microplastics create new habitats that can harbor pathogens and alter natural microbial ecosystems in ways that may affect water quality and human health.
Biofilms in plastisphere from freshwater wetlands: Biofilm formation, bacterial community assembly, and biogeochemical cycles
Researchers studied how bacteria form biofilms on microplastic surfaces in freshwater wetlands and found that these plastic-associated communities differ significantly from natural soil bacteria. The microplastic biofilms had lower diversity but higher activity in carbon processing and nitrogen cycling genes. This means microplastics in wetlands can alter natural nutrient cycles, potentially affecting water quality in ecosystems that many communities rely on.
Niche vs. habitat: Insights of aging microplastics and wetland types on bacterial community assembly
Researchers studied how bacterial communities assemble on microplastic surfaces (plastispheres) versus surrounding soil in three types of wetlands using low-density polyethylene. They found that wetland habitat type had a stronger influence on bacterial diversity patterns than whether the plastic was virgin or aged, with plastisphere communities showing lower diversity and more stochastic assembly compared to soil communities.
Dynamics and functions of microbial communities in the plastisphere in temperate coastal environments
Researchers explored microbial communities colonizing microplastics in coastal environments of Japan, comparing bacterial and fungal communities across different plastic types, water, sediment, and sand. The study found that while microbial communities varied by sample type and location rather than plastic shape, microplastics harbored hydrocarbon-degrading organisms as well as potential pathogens, highlighting the ecological significance of plastic-associated biofilms.
In Situ Investigation of Plastic-Associated Bacterial Communities in a Freshwater Lake of Hungary
Researchers investigated plastic-associated bacterial communities on microplastic surfaces in a Hungarian freshwater lake, finding that the plastisphere harbored distinct microbial communities compared to surrounding water, including potential pathogens and plastic-degrading bacteria.
Plastisphere - a new habitat of microbial community: Composition, structure and ecological consequences
This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities colonizing microplastics — covering the composition and structure of plastisphere microbiomes across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments and discussing ecological consequences including pathogen dispersal.
Bacterial community structure of water, sediment and microplastics in Poyang Lake wetland.
This study compared the bacterial communities living on four types of microplastics (film, foam, fiber, and fragment) in Poyang Lake wetland in China against the bacterial communities in the surrounding water and sediment. The microplastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities that differed from both the water and sediment, with foam microplastics supporting the least diverse communities. This "plastisphere" research is important because the unique bacteria colonizing plastic surfaces could spread pathogens or alter nutrient cycles in freshwater wetland ecosystems.
Plastisphere in freshwaters: An emerging concern
This review introduced the concept of the freshwater plastisphere - the microbial community colonizing plastic debris in rivers and lakes - and found that freshwater plastisphere communities are compositionally distinct from marine ones and from ambient water microbiomes, with implications for pathogen dispersal and plastic degradation in inland waters.
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.
Bacterial and fungal assemblages and functions associated with biofilms differ between diverse types of plastic debris in a freshwater system
Researchers characterised bacterial and fungal assemblages on three types of plastic debris in a freshwater urban river system, finding that microbial communities on plastics differ from those in surrounding water. High-throughput sequencing revealed that alpha diversity of bacterial communities was higher on polyethylene microplastics than on other plastic types, with intraspecies interactions between bacteria and fungi differing across diverse plastic substrates.
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.
Diatom and macroinvertebrate communities dynamic: a co-occurrence pattern analysis on plastic substrates
Researchers examined how diatoms and invertebrates colonize plastic debris in wetlands, finding that plastic surfaces host distinct biological communities compared to natural substrates. This suggests that plastic pollution in wetlands disrupts natural ecosystem processes beyond direct physical harm to wildlife.
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 Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil
Soil-buried plastic debris harbored microbial communities clearly distinct from surrounding bulk soil and from aquatic plastisphere communities, with a core set of plastic-colonizing taxa including Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria detected across both polymer types tested, suggesting that terrestrial plastisphere colonization follows predictable ecological rules.
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.
Edaphic Gradients Reshape Microbial Microenclaves Assembly within Plastispheres
Researchers sampled microplastics and surrounding soils at 27 urban wetland sites in China to study how bacteria colonize plastic surfaces, forming communities known as plastispheres. They found that plastispheres selectively recruit soil bacteria but harbor only 52-69% of the bacterial diversity found in adjacent soil. The study reveals that soil nutrient levels and moisture conditions strongly influence how these microplastic-associated microbial communities assemble.
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.
The plastisphere ecology: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on microbial community composition, function and assembly in aquatic ecosystems
Researchers studied the microbial communities living on microplastic surfaces (called the plastisphere) across four different aquatic sites and found that plastics host a distinctly different mix of microbes than the surrounding water, shaped by local pollution sources. These plastic-surface microbes also carry more antibiotic resistance genes and show greater potential for breaking down plastics, making the plastisphere both a health concern and a potential bioremediation resource.
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.
Characteristics analysis of plastisphere biofilm and effect of aging products on nitrogen metabolizing flora in microcosm wetlands experiment
Researchers placed three types of plastic in miniature constructed wetlands for 180 days and tracked how they aged and affected microbial communities. The plastics degraded at different rates, with PVC developing new chemical groups and all surfaces becoming less water-repellent as bacteria colonized them. The plastic surfaces altered nitrogen-processing bacteria in the wetland water, suggesting microplastics can disrupt nutrient cycling in natural wetland ecosystems.
The Spatiotemporal Successions of Bacterial and Fungal Plastisphere Communities and Their Effects on Microplastic Degradation in Soil Ecosystems
Researchers tracked how bacterial and fungal communities colonize microplastic surfaces in soil over time, finding that the surrounding soil type had the strongest influence on which microbes grew on the plastics. The microbial communities on microplastics were less diverse and less stable than those in the surrounding soil, but they attracted microbes with a higher capacity to break down organic carbon. The study suggests that microplastic surfaces become hotspots for carbon metabolism in soil ecosystems.
From rivers to marine environments: A constantly evolving microbial community within the plastisphere
Researchers sampled 107 plastic pieces across four aquatic ecosystems in southern France and found that the sampling location and polymer chemistry were the strongest drivers of plastisphere microbial community composition, while only 11% of samples showed elevated Vibrio pathogen levels compared to surrounding water.
Terrestrial plastisphere as unique niches for fungal communities
Researchers used 125 laboratory experiments to compare the fungi living on microplastics versus nearby soil, finding that microplastic surfaces host distinct fungal communities enriched in Penicillium and the potentially harmful pathogen Alternaria. These "plastisphere" fungal communities were less shaped by environmental conditions than soil communities, suggesting microplastics may create isolated niches that concentrate certain fungi and potentially reduce local biodiversity.
Environmental Health Impact of Plastisphere
This review examines the growing body of research on plastisphere ecosystems in aquatic environments including rivers, lakes, and estuaries, discussing microbial community composition on plastic surfaces and the ecological consequences for freshwater biodiversity and function.