Microplastics drive nitrification by enriching functional microorganisms in aquaculture pond waters

Wen, Bin; Ma, Lin; Liu, Xin; Li, Zhongjun; Ma, Tao; Xu, Lei; Gao, Jian‐Zhong; Chen, Zaizhong

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136646

Cited by 21 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Most of the retrieved ASVs were affiliated to different cyanobacterial families comprising well-known freshwater biofilm-forming members (e.g., Leptolyngbyaceae, Nostocaceae, and Cyanobiaceae) ( Besemer, 2015 ; Zancarini et al, 2017 ). Benthic cyanobacteria, along with pennate diatoms, colonial and filamentous green algae, were previously shown to occur in plastisphere exposed to sunlight in marine and freshwater ecosystems ( Eich et al, 2015 ; Oberbeckmann et al, 2016 ; Huang et al, 2022 ; Zhang W. et al, 2022 ; Vladimir et al, 2023 ). Noteworthy, the majority of ASVs affiliated to Burkholderiaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, and Sphingomonadaceae in the Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were found both in planktonic and plastisphere communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial colonization patterns and biodegradation of petrochemical and biodegradable plastics in lake waters: insights from a field experiment

Di Pippo,

Bocci,

Amalfitano

et al. 2023

Front. Microbiol.

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IntroductionOnce dispersed in water, plastic materials become promptly colonized by biofilm-forming microorganisms, commonly known as plastisphere.MethodsBy combining DNA sequencing and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), we investigated the plastisphere colonization patterns following exposure to natural lake waters (up to 77 days) of either petrochemical or biodegradable plastic materials (low density polyethylene - LDPE, polyethylene terephthalate - PET, polylactic acid - PLA, and the starch-based MaterBi® - Mb) in comparison to planktonic community composition. Chemical composition, water wettability, and morphology of plastic surfaces were evaluated, through Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and static contact angle analysis, to assess the possible effects of microbial colonization and biodegradation activity.Results and DiscussionThe phylogenetic composition of plastisphere and planktonic communities was notably different. Pioneering microbial colonisers, likely selected from lake waters, were found associated with all plastic materials, along with a core of more than 30 abundant bacterial families associated with all polymers. The different plastic materials, either derived from petrochemical hydrocarbons (i.e., LDPE and PET) or biodegradable (PLA and Mb), were used by opportunistic aquatic microorganisms as adhesion surfaces rather than carbon sources. The Mb-associated microorganisms (i.e. mostly members of the family Burkholderiaceae) were likely able to degrade the starch residues on the polymer surfaces, although the Mb matrix maintained its original chemical structure and morphology. Overall, our findings provide insights into the complex interactions between aquatic microorganisms and plastic materials found in lake waters, highlighting the importance of understanding the plastisphere dynamics to better manage the fate of plastic debris in the environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial colonization patterns and biodegradation of petrochemical and biodegradable plastics in lake waters: insights from a field experiment

Di Pippo,

Bocci,

Amalfitano

et al. 2023

Front. Microbiol.

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“…Bryant et al [ 73 ] found genes with significantly higher abundance among plastic‐attached bacteria; these genes, such as nifH , suggest enrichment for nitrogen fixation in the plastisphere. Several studies provided substantive evidence that the plastisphere influences nitrogen cycling [ 114 , 115 , 116 ]. For instance, Su et al [ 116 ] reported that plastisphere exhibits a higher denitrifying activity and N 2 O production than that in the surrounding bulk water, suggesting an overlooked N 2 O source.…”

Section: The Functions Of Plastispherementioning

confidence: 99%

Plastisphere microbiome: Methodology, diversity, and functionality

Sun

Zang

et al. 2023

iMeta

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“…Plastispheres may be a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer among microbes, potentially facilitating the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes [ 17 , 18 ]. Additionally, microbes in the plastispheres can play a strong role influencing biogeochemical cycling in the Anthropocene [ 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, microbial exposure may increase via the entry of microplastics into the food chain, leading to threats to biological safety and human health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homogenization of bacterial plastisphere community in soil: a continental-scale microcosm study

Sun,

Wu,

Xie

et al. 2024

ISME Communications

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Microplastics alter niches of soil microbiota by providing trillions of artificial microhabitats, termed the “plastisphere”. Due to the ever-increasing accumulation of microplastics in ecosystems, it is urgent to understand the ecology of microbes associated with the plastisphere. Here, we present a continental-scale study of the bacterial plastisphere on polyethylene microplastics compared with adjacent soil communities across 99 sites collected from across China through microcosm experiments. In comparison with the soil bacterial communities, we found that plastispheres had a greater proportion of Actinomycetota and Bacillota, but lower proportions of Pseudomonadota, Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, and Bacteroidota. The spatial dispersion and the dissimilarity among plastisphere communities were less variable than those among the soil bacterial communities, suggesting highly homogenized bacterial communities on microplastics. The relative importance of homogeneous selection in plastispheres was greater than that in soil samples, possibly because of the more uniform properties of PE microplastics compared to the surrounding soil. Importantly, we found that the degree to which plastisphere and soil bacterial communities differed was negatively correlated with the soil pH and carbon content and positively related to the mean annual temperature of sampling sites. Our work provides a more comprehensive continental-scale perspective on the microbial communities that form in the plastisphere and highlights the potential impacts of microplastics on the maintenance of microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

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Microplastics drive nitrification by enriching functional microorganisms in aquaculture pond waters

Cited by 21 publications

References 53 publications

Microbial colonization patterns and biodegradation of petrochemical and biodegradable plastics in lake waters: insights from a field experiment

Microbial colonization patterns and biodegradation of petrochemical and biodegradable plastics in lake waters: insights from a field experiment

Plastisphere microbiome: Methodology, diversity, and functionality

Homogenization of bacterial plastisphere community in soil: a continental-scale microcosm study

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