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Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters
Open accessAbstract
Plastic pollution is now recognised as a major threat to marine environments and marine biota. Recent research highlights that diverse microbial species are found to colonise plastic surfaces (the plastisphere) within marine waters. Here, we investigate how the structure and diversity of marine plastisphere microbial community vary with respect to season, location and plastic substrate type. We performed a 6-week exposure experiment with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in the North Sea (UK) as well as sea surface sampling of plastic polymers in Northern European waters. Scanning electron microscopy revealed diverse plastisphere communities comprising prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing analysis revealed that plastisphere microbial communities on PET fragments varied both with season and location and comprised of bacteria belonging to Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and members of the eukaryotes Bacillariophyceae and Phaeophyceae. Polymers sampled from the sea surface mainly comprised polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene particles. Variation within plastisphere communities on different polymer types was observed, but communities were primarily dominated by Cyanobacteria. This research reveals that the composition of plastisphere microbial communities in marine waters varies with season, geographical location and plastic substrate type. We investigated structural and taxonomical variation of microbial biofilm communities on plastic fragments in coastal and offshore Northern European waters, with respect to season, geographical location and plastic type. We investigated structural and taxonomical variation of microbial biofilm communities on plastic fragments in coastal and offshore Northern European waters, with respect to season, geographical location and plastic type.
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“Loss of samples by anthropogenic impact or natural forces (e.g. [29, 38, 40, 42]) could substantially jeopardize the outcome of experiments.”
From Field and mesocosm methods to test biodegradable plastic film under marine conditions (2020) · cites this paper as [42]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Oberbeckmann, S., Loeder, M. G. J., Gerdts, G., & Osborn, A. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Hull (GB)
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Oberbeckmann, Sonja
- Venue
- FEMS Microbiology Ecology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2014-11-01
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 478-492
- ISSN
- 0168-6496 (ISSN-L)
- 1574-6941
- OpenAlex
- W1839247734
- Cited by
- 540
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 9.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- FEMS Microbiology Ecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry
- Keywords
- plastisphere, marine plastic pollution, biofilm, microbial community diversity, seasonal variation, spatial variability, polyethylene terephthalate, cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, diatoms, brown algae, North Sea
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Molecular Sequence Data, North Sea, Oceans and Seas, Plastics, Seasons, Seawater, Water Pollutants, Bacterial Physiological Phenomena, Biofilms, Eukaryota, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis
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