Degradation of plastics and plastic-degrading bacteria in cold marine habitats
Open accessAbstract
Synthetic plastics present in everyday materials constitute the main anthropogenic debris entering the Earth's oceans. The oceans provide important and valuable resources such as food, energy, and water. They are also the main way of international trade and the main stabilizer of the climate. Hence, changes in the marine ecosystem caused by anthropogenic influences such as plastic pollution can have a dramatic impact on a global scale. Although the problem of plastics still remains unsolved, different ways are being considered to reduce their impact on the environment. One of them is to use microorganisms capable of degradation of plastic. A particularly interesting area is the application of microorganisms isolated from cold regions in view of their unique characteristics. Nevertheless, the interactions between plastic and microorganisms are still poorly known. Here, we present a review of current knowledge on plastic degradation and plastic-microorganism interactions in cold marine habitats. Moreover, we highlight the advantages of microorganisms isolated from this environment for eliminating plastic waste from ecosystems.
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Microbes have adapted their physiology to ambient temperature conditions, and some potential plastic degraders were found in cold habitats.
“Though microbes have adapted their physiology to ambient temperature conditions 127 (and some potential plastic degraders were found in cold habitats), 128”
From The fate of plastic in the ocean environment – a minireview (2021) · cites this paper as [128]
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- Authors
- Urbanek, A. K., Rymowicz, W., & Mirończuk, A. M.
- Affiliations
- Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (PL)
- Corresponding author
- Mirończuk, Aleksandra M.
- Venue
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Published
- 2018-07-11
- Volume
- 102
- Issue
- 18
- Pages
- 7669-7678
- ISSN
- 0175-7598 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-0614
- PMC
- PMC6132502
- OpenAlex
- W2869876473
- Cited by
- 619
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 73 · 2025: 89 · 2024: 87 · 2023: 99 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 89 · 2020: 69 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 2.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki (2017/27/B/NZ9/02218)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Keywords
- plastic degradation, plastic-degrading bacteria, marine plastic pollution, cold-adapted microorganisms
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Biodegradation, Environmental, Cold Temperature, Plastics, Seawater, Ecosystem
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