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Structural and Functional Characteristics of Microplastic Associated Biofilms in Response to Temporal Dynamics and Polymer Types

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Abstract

The colonization of bacterial communities and biofilm formation on microplastics (MPs) have aroused great concern recently. However, the influence of time and polymer types on the structural and functional characteristics of biofilms remains unclear. In this study, three types of MPs (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) were exposed for different time periods (10, 20 and 30 days) in seawater using a microcosm experiment. Microscopic spectroscopy and high-throughput gene sequencing techniques were used to reveal the temporal changes of structural and functional characteristics of MPs associated biofilms. The results indicate that the biofilm formation is affected by both the incubation time and the polymer type. In addition, bacterial diversity and community structure in the biofilms show selectivity towards seawater, and tend to shift over time and among different polymer types. Moreover, biofilms are shown to harbor plastic degrading bacteria, leading to the changes of functional groups and surface hydrophobicity, and thereby enhancing the biodegradation of MPs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS, China (No. QYZDJSSW-DQC015), and the Sino-German International Cooperation Project, BMBF, Germany (No. 03F0786A). The authors thank Sascha Plewe and Qian Zhou (IOW) for their support and assistance while working with the SEM, and Chenjie Zhang (YIC) for his assistance in CVA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, YICCAS, Yantai, 264003, China

    Chen Tu, Ying Liu, Lianzhen Li, Yuan Li & Yongming Luo

  2. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, 18119, Rostock, Germany

    Chen Tu, Angela Vogts & Joanna J. Waniek

  3. CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yongming Luo

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  1. Chen Tu
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  2. Ying Liu
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  3. Lianzhen Li
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  4. Yuan Li
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  5. Angela Vogts
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  6. Yongming Luo
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  7. Joanna J. Waniek
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Correspondence to Yongming Luo.

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Tu, C., Liu, Y., Li, L. et al. Structural and Functional Characteristics of Microplastic Associated Biofilms in Response to Temporal Dynamics and Polymer Types. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 107, 633–639 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03333-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03333-1

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