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Cited by 608

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 12 of the 12 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Distinct community structure and microbial functions of biofilms colonizing microplastics

Miao, Lingzhan, Wang, Peifang, Hou, Jun, Yao, Yu, Liu, Zhilin, Liu, Songqi, Li, Tengfei·2019·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Microplastics are frequently detected in freshwater environments, serving as a new factitious substrate for colonization of biofilm-forming microorganisms. Distinct microbial assemblages between microplastics and surrounding waters have been well documented; however, there is insufficient knowledge regarding biofilm colonization of plastic and non-plastic substrates, despite the fact that microbial communities generally aggregate on natural solid surfaces. In this study, the effects of substrate type on microbial communities were evaluated by incubation of biofilms on microplastic substrates (polyethylene and polypropylene) and natural substrates (cobblestone and wood) for 21 days under controlled conditions. Results from high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that the alpha diversity (richness, evenness, and diversity) was lower in the microplastic-associated communities than in those on the natural substrates, indicating substrate-type-coupled species sorting. Distinct community structure and biofilm composition were observed between these two substrate types. Significantly higher abundances of Pirellulaceae, Phycisphaerales, Cyclobacteriaceae, and Roseococcus were observed on the microplastic substrates compared with the natural substrates. Simultaneously, the functional profiles (KEGG) predicted by Tax4Fun showed that the pathways of amino acid metabolism and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins were increased in biofilms on the microplastic substrates. The findings illustrate that microplastic acts as a distinct microbial habitat (compared with natural substrates) that could not only change the community structure but also affect microbial functions, potentially impacting the ecological functions of microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems.

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Metadata

Authors
Miao, L., Wang, P., Hou, J., Yao, Y., Liu, Z., Liu, S., & Li, T.
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-02
Volume
650
Issue
Pt 2
Pages
2395-2402
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2895010771
Cited by
608
References
12
FWCI
15.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Distinct community structure and microbial functions of biofilms colonizing microplastics. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.378
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Miao, L., Wang, P., Hou, J., Yao, Y., Liu, Z., Liu, S., & Li, T. (2019). Distinct community structure and microbial functions of biofilms colonizing microplastics. Science of The Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.378

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