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Biofilms of Microplastics

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Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 95))

Abstract

The occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the terrestrial and marine environment has been gaining global attention. These microparticles carry biofilm communities that are distinct from the surrounding environment. MP-colonizing microorganisms are important links for the fate of MPs in different ecosystems. However, the influence of plastic-colonizing microorganisms on the fate of microplastics is largely unknown. Here we review the formation of biofilms and dynamic variation on the surfaces of microplastics together with the main research methodologies for biofilm analysis. The potential impacts of biofilm formation on the environmental fate of microplastics caused by MP-colonizing microorganisms such as weathering processes, vertical transport, sorption and release of contaminants, trophic transfer of MP particles, and potential environmental toxicity of MPs in the marine ecosystem are also reviewed. Future studies are needed on the processes and mechanisms of microplastic and biofilm interactions in the terrestrial environment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC1402202), the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. QYZDJ-SSW-DQC015), and the External Cooperation Program of BIC, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 133337KYSB20160003). We appreciate the linguistic revision by Dr. Peter Christie, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, China

    Chen Tu, Qian Zhou, Chenjie Zhang, Ying Liu & Yongming Luo

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

    Yongming Luo

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Correspondence to Yongming Luo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

    Defu He

  2. Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China

    Yongming Luo

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Tu, C., Zhou, Q., Zhang, C., Liu, Y., Luo, Y. (2020). Biofilms of Microplastics. In: He, D., Luo, Y. (eds) Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 95. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2020_461

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