Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics.
Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic habitats globally, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are point sources of microplastics. Within aquatic habitats microplastics are colonized by microbial biofilms, which can include pathogenic taxa and taxa associated with plastic breakdown....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244443 |
| _version_ | 1818574316958121984 |
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| author | John J Kelly Maxwell G London Amanda R McCormick Miguel Rojas John W Scott Timothy J Hoellein |
| author_facet | John J Kelly Maxwell G London Amanda R McCormick Miguel Rojas John W Scott Timothy J Hoellein |
| author_sort | John J Kelly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic habitats globally, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are point sources of microplastics. Within aquatic habitats microplastics are colonized by microbial biofilms, which can include pathogenic taxa and taxa associated with plastic breakdown. Microplastics enter WWTPs in sewage and exit in sludge or effluent, but the role that WWTPs play in establishing or modifying microplastic bacterial assemblages is unknown. We analyzed microplastics and associated biofilms in raw sewage, effluent water, and sludge from two WWTPs. Both plants retained >99% of influent microplastics in sludge, and sludge microplastics showed higher bacterial species richness and higher abundance of taxa associated with bioflocculation (e.g. Xanthomonas) than influent microplastics, suggesting that colonization of microplastics within the WWTP may play a role in retention. Microplastics in WWTP effluent included significantly lower abundances of some potentially pathogenic bacterial taxa (e.g. Campylobacteraceae) compared to influent microplastics; however, other potentially pathogenic taxa (e.g. Acinetobacter) remained abundant on effluent microplastics, and several taxa linked to plastic breakdown (e.g. Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas) were significantly more abundant on effluent compared to influent microplastics. These results indicate that diverse bacterial assemblages colonize microplastics within sewage and that WWTPs can play a significant role in modifying the microplastic-associated assemblages, which may affect the fate of microplastics within the WWTPs and the environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:24:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7ca1cb34690d48c4ab6178256cee3651 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:24:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-7ca1cb34690d48c4ab6178256cee36512022-12-21T22:42:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01161e024444310.1371/journal.pone.0244443Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics.John J KellyMaxwell G LondonAmanda R McCormickMiguel RojasJohn W ScottTimothy J HoelleinMicroplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic habitats globally, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are point sources of microplastics. Within aquatic habitats microplastics are colonized by microbial biofilms, which can include pathogenic taxa and taxa associated with plastic breakdown. Microplastics enter WWTPs in sewage and exit in sludge or effluent, but the role that WWTPs play in establishing or modifying microplastic bacterial assemblages is unknown. We analyzed microplastics and associated biofilms in raw sewage, effluent water, and sludge from two WWTPs. Both plants retained >99% of influent microplastics in sludge, and sludge microplastics showed higher bacterial species richness and higher abundance of taxa associated with bioflocculation (e.g. Xanthomonas) than influent microplastics, suggesting that colonization of microplastics within the WWTP may play a role in retention. Microplastics in WWTP effluent included significantly lower abundances of some potentially pathogenic bacterial taxa (e.g. Campylobacteraceae) compared to influent microplastics; however, other potentially pathogenic taxa (e.g. Acinetobacter) remained abundant on effluent microplastics, and several taxa linked to plastic breakdown (e.g. Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas) were significantly more abundant on effluent compared to influent microplastics. These results indicate that diverse bacterial assemblages colonize microplastics within sewage and that WWTPs can play a significant role in modifying the microplastic-associated assemblages, which may affect the fate of microplastics within the WWTPs and the environment.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244443 |
| spellingShingle | John J Kelly Maxwell G London Amanda R McCormick Miguel Rojas John W Scott Timothy J Hoellein Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. PLoS ONE |
| title | Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. |
| title_full | Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. |
| title_fullStr | Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. |
| title_short | Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. |
| title_sort | wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244443 |
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