Assessment of the Influence of Size and Concentration on the Ecotoxicity of Microplastics to Microalgae Scenedesmus sp., Bacterium Pseudomonas putida and Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The harmful effects of microplastics are not yet fully revealed. This study tested harmful effects of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics were tested. Growth inhibition tests were conducted using three microorganisms with different characteristics: Scenedesmus sp., Pseudomonas putida, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The growth inhibition test with Scenedesmus sp. is relatively widely used, while the tests with Pseudomonas putida and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were, to our knowledge, applied to microplastics for the first time. The influence of concentration and size of microplastic particles, in the range of 50–1000 mg/L and 200–600 µm, was tested. Determined inhibitions on all three microorganisms confirmed the hazardous potential of the microplastics used. Modeling of the inhibition surface showed the increase in harmfulness with increasing concentration of the microplastics. Particle size showed no effect for Scenedesmus with PE, PP and PET, Pseudomonas putida with PS, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with PP. In the remaining cases, higher inhibitions followed a decrease in particle size. The exception was Scenedesmus sp. with PS, where the lowest inhibitions were obtained at 400 µm. Finally, among the applied tests, the test with Saccharomyces cerevisiae proved to be the most sensitive to microplastics.

Bacteria and Yeasts Isolated from the Environment in Biodegradation of PS and PVC Microplastics: Screening and Treatment Optimization

“…Of course, this cannot be reliably asserted without a detailed analysis of the toxicity mechanisms of these two MPs. For example, we recently tested the toxicity of PS and PVC microparticles with different microorganisms and found different orders of toxicity: with applied 200-600 µm particles at an amount of 50-1000 mg L −1 , PVC was more toxic to the microalga Scenedesmus sp., less toxic to the bacterium Pseudomonas putida, and equally toxic to the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [91].…”

Distribution and biodegradation analysis of polyvinyl chloride microplastic by indigenous bacteria isolated from Supit Urang Landfill, Malang, Indonesia

“…According to Montazer et al (2018), the degree of similarity or similarity of the base sequence of the 16S rRNA encoding gene is more than 97% not a new species or still within the same species. Research conducted by Miloloza et al (2021) proved that Bacillus subtilis could degrade PVC, but choosing the right conditions for the highest efficiency is significant. Previous studies have reported bacteria that can degrade PVC plastic (Table 5).…”

Scanning Electron Microscopy and Metabolite Measurement Revealed the Stress Mechanism of PS-COOH Microplastics on Rhodotorula mucilaginosa AN5

“…Microplastics widely exist in the marine environment. They interact with other marine persistent pollutants and pollute marine biota when ingested (do Sul et al, 2014), which can be enlarged by the food chain and food web (Miloloža, M. et al, 2022). Therefore, the impact of microplastics on the bottom organisms of the marine food chain is considered to be an important topic (M Carbery et al, 2018).…”