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Research progress on distribution, sources, identification, toxicity, and biodegradation of microplastics in the ocean, freshwater, and soil environment

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Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are distributed in the oceans, freshwater, and soil environment and have become major pollutants. MPs are generally referred to as plastic particles less than 5 mm in diameter. They consist of primary microplastics synthesized in microscopic size manufactured production and secondary microplastics generated by physical and environmental degradation. Plastic particles are long-lived pollutants that are highly resistant to environmental degradation. In this review, the distribution and possible sources of MPs in aquatic and terrestrial environments are described. Moreover, the adverse effects of MPs on natural creatures due to ingestion have been discussed. We also have summarized identification methods based on MPs particle size and chemical bond. To control the pollution of MPs, the biodegradation of MPs under the action of different microbes has also been reviewed in this work. This review will contribute to a better understanding of MPs pollution in the environment, as well as their identification, toxicity, and biodegradation in the ocean, freshwater, and soil, and the assessment and control of microplastics exposure.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.31871718) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project (No. 2019M650023).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China

    Qinghui Sun, Chen Wang, Anqi Chen, Yanli You & Yanshen Li

  2. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A5B9, Canada

    Juan Li

  3. Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bee Products for Quality and Safety Control, Laboratory of Risk Assessment for Quality and Safety of Bee Products, Bee Product Quality Supervision and Testing Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100093, China

    Shupeng Yang

  4. Shandong Marine Resource and Environment Research Institute, Laboratory of Restoration for Marine Ecology, Yantai, 264006, China

    Huihui Liu

  5. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Guibin Jiang

  6. NHC Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Chinese Academy of Medical Science Research Unit (2019RU014), China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100017, China

    Yongning Wu

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  1. Qinghui Sun
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  10. Yanshen Li
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Correspondence to Yongning Wu or Yanshen Li.

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Highlights

• Microplastics are widely found in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.

• Cleaning products and discarded plastic waste are primary sources of microplastics.

• Microplastics have apparent toxic effects on the growth of fish and soil plants.

• Multiple strains of biodegradable microplastics have been isolated.

Special Issue—Microplastic and Nanoplastic Pollution: Characterization, Transport, Fate, and Remediation Strategies

Credit Authorship Contribution Statement

Yanshen Li: Supervision, review, editing and funding acquisition. Guibin Jiang and Yongning Wu: Supervision and review. Qinghui Sun, Chen Wang, Anqi Chen, Yanli You, Investigation, Writing- original draft. Juan Li, Shupeng Yang, and Huihui Liu writing- review and editing. The authors would like to thank Dr. Zhaoji Dai for his work polishing the language.

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Sun, Q., Li, J., Wang, C. et al. Research progress on distribution, sources, identification, toxicity, and biodegradation of microplastics in the ocean, freshwater, and soil environment. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 16, 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1429-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1429-z

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