New insights into the functioning and structure of the PE and PP plastispheres from the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Plastic debris are accumulating in the marine environment and aggregate microorganisms that form a new ecosystem called the plastisphere. Better understanding the plastisphere is crucial as it has self-sufficient organization and carries pathogens or organisms that may be involved in the pollutant adsorption and/or plastic degradation. To date, the plastisphere is mainly described at the taxonomic level and the functioning of its microbial communities still remains poorly documented. In this work, metagenomic and metaproteomic analyzes were performed on the plastisphere of polypropylene and polyethylene plastic debris sampled on a pebble beach from the Mediterranean Sea. Our results confirmed that the plastisphere was organized as self-sufficient ecosystems containing highly active primary producers, heterotrophs and predators such as nematode. Interestingly, the chemical composition of the polymer did not impact the structure of the microbial communities but rather influenced the functions expressed. Despite the fact that the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria was observed in the metagenomes, polymer degradation metabolisms were not detected at the protein level. Finally, hydrocarbon degrader (i.e., Alcanivorax) and pathogenic bacteria (i.e., Vibrionaceae) were observed in the plastispheres but were not very active as no proteins involved in polymer degradation or pathogeny were detected. This work brings new insights into the functioning of the microbial plastisphere developed on plastic marine debris.☆ This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Maria Cristina Fossi.

Eco-Plastics in the Sea: Succession of Micro- and Macro-Fouling on a Biodegradable Polymer Augmented With Oyster Shell

“…While previous studies reported diatoms (Mincer et al, 2016), Arthropoda (Delacuvellerie et al, 2021), fungi (Kettner et al, 2017), and ascidians (Vieira et al, 2018) as pioneer colonizers of artificial surfaces in the marine environment, our results show that Cnidaria, and particularly the invasive hydroid of the Bougainvillia genus, was the main taxon detected in the eukaryotic dataset during the early stages of recruitment (week-1 and -3). Bougainvillia's explosive growth could have been favored by the chemical cues from the bio-polymers (Wyatt et al, 2005;Grey et al, 2018) and/or the lack of competition during the early stage of colonization (Rinkevich and Sakai, 2001;Lindquist, 2002).…”

Vibrio spp and other potential pathogenic bacteria associated to microfibers in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

“…is frequently associated to marine algae [ 53 ]. These associations support the fact that the plastisphere may be a self-sufficient ecosystem [ 54 ], with many ecological relations among its members that include symbionts, saprotrophs and parasites [ 55 ]. The communities we have identified living on MFs in the Mediterranean Sea form distinct groups in relation to the sampling seasons (summer and spring) ( Fig 4 ).…”

“…To date, only a few studies have reported bacteria that could be a putative human pathogen on MFs or other types of microplastics in Mediterranean waters [ 49 , 54 ]. This study is the first to describe V. parahaemolyticus on floating MFs at the region.…”

“…Members of the genus Vibrio were also found on plastic debris at a Mediterranean beach (Calvi, Corsica) with the pathogenic V . splendidus accounting for up to 70% of the total reads [ 54 ]. Other studies detected V .…”

Effect of land use on microplastic pollution in a major boundary waterway: The Arvand River

“…Adverse health effects associated with the intake of MPs by marine species include physical damage, tissue abrasion and mechanical obstruction (Pozo et al, 2019). The release of plastic additives J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Journal Pre-proof and adsorbed toxic elements, persistent organics and substances of concern such as antibiotics and even microorganisms may occur during digestion of MPs in the digestive tracts of marine species (Caruso, 2019;Yu et al, 2021) (Delacuvellerie et al, 2022). Thus, MPs can be vectors of toxic chemicals and their intake could result in toxicity to aquatic life (Pannetier et al, 2020).…”