The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil
The concept of a ‘plastisphere microbial community’ arose from research on aquatic plastic debris, while the effect of plastics on microbial communities in soils remains poorly understood. Therefore, we examined the inhabiting microbial communities of two plastic debris ecosystems with regard to the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/9/1876 |
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| author | Joana MacLean Sathish Mayanna Liane G. Benning Fabian Horn Alexander Bartholomäus Yosri Wiesner Dirk Wagner Susanne Liebner |
| author_facet | Joana MacLean Sathish Mayanna Liane G. Benning Fabian Horn Alexander Bartholomäus Yosri Wiesner Dirk Wagner Susanne Liebner |
| author_sort | Joana MacLean |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The concept of a ‘plastisphere microbial community’ arose from research on aquatic plastic debris, while the effect of plastics on microbial communities in soils remains poorly understood. Therefore, we examined the inhabiting microbial communities of two plastic debris ecosystems with regard to their diversity and composition relative to plastic-free soils from the same area using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Furthermore, we studied the plastic-colonizing potential of bacteria originating from both study sites as a measure of surface adhesion to UV-weathered polyethylene (PE) using high-magnification field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The high plastic content of the soils was associated with a reduced alpha diversity and a significantly different structure of the microbial communities. The presence of plastic debris in soils did not specifically enrich bacteria known to degrade plastic, as suggested by earlier studies, but rather shifted the microbial community towards highly abundant autotrophic bacteria potentially tolerant to hydrophobic environments and known to be important for biocrust formation. The bacterial inoculates from both sites formed dense biofilms on the surface and in micrometer-scale surface cracks of the UV-weathered PE chips after 100 days of in vitro incubation with visible threadlike EPS structures and cross-connections enabling surface adhesion. High-resolution FESEM imaging further indicates that the microbial colonization catalyzed some of the surface degradation of PE. In essence, this study suggests the concept of a ‘terrestrial plastisphere’ as a diverse consortium of microorganisms including autotrophs and other pioneering species paving the way for those members of the consortium that may eventually break down the plastic compounds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:25:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43697ddb2cc048cba509e2e09118e66d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:25:56Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-43697ddb2cc048cba509e2e09118e66d2023-11-22T14:18:26ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072021-09-0199187610.3390/microorganisms9091876The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in SoilJoana MacLean0Sathish Mayanna1Liane G. Benning2Fabian Horn3Alexander Bartholomäus4Yosri Wiesner5Dirk Wagner6Susanne Liebner7GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Interface Geochemistry, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Interface Geochemistry, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyDepartment of Physical and Chemical Analysis of Polymers, BAM Berlin, 12205 Berlin, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyThe concept of a ‘plastisphere microbial community’ arose from research on aquatic plastic debris, while the effect of plastics on microbial communities in soils remains poorly understood. Therefore, we examined the inhabiting microbial communities of two plastic debris ecosystems with regard to their diversity and composition relative to plastic-free soils from the same area using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Furthermore, we studied the plastic-colonizing potential of bacteria originating from both study sites as a measure of surface adhesion to UV-weathered polyethylene (PE) using high-magnification field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The high plastic content of the soils was associated with a reduced alpha diversity and a significantly different structure of the microbial communities. The presence of plastic debris in soils did not specifically enrich bacteria known to degrade plastic, as suggested by earlier studies, but rather shifted the microbial community towards highly abundant autotrophic bacteria potentially tolerant to hydrophobic environments and known to be important for biocrust formation. The bacterial inoculates from both sites formed dense biofilms on the surface and in micrometer-scale surface cracks of the UV-weathered PE chips after 100 days of in vitro incubation with visible threadlike EPS structures and cross-connections enabling surface adhesion. High-resolution FESEM imaging further indicates that the microbial colonization catalyzed some of the surface degradation of PE. In essence, this study suggests the concept of a ‘terrestrial plastisphere’ as a diverse consortium of microorganisms including autotrophs and other pioneering species paving the way for those members of the consortium that may eventually break down the plastic compounds.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/9/1876plastisphereplastic pollutionsoil microbial communitymicrobial diversitybiofilmsmicrobe–plastic interactions |
| spellingShingle | Joana MacLean Sathish Mayanna Liane G. Benning Fabian Horn Alexander Bartholomäus Yosri Wiesner Dirk Wagner Susanne Liebner The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil Microorganisms plastisphere plastic pollution soil microbial community microbial diversity biofilms microbe–plastic interactions |
| title | The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil |
| title_full | The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil |
| title_fullStr | The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil |
| title_short | The Terrestrial Plastisphere: Diversity and Polymer-Colonizing Potential of Plastic-Associated Microbial Communities in Soil |
| title_sort | terrestrial plastisphere diversity and polymer colonizing potential of plastic associated microbial communities in soil |
| topic | plastisphere plastic pollution soil microbial community microbial diversity biofilms microbe–plastic interactions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/9/1876 |
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