Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities
Approximately 9 million metric tons of plastics enters the ocean annually, and once in the marine environment, plastic surfaces can be quickly colonised by marine microorganisms, forming a biofilm. Studies on plastic debris-biofilm associations, known as plastisphere, have increased exponentially wi...
Saved in:
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169082 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
Language: | English |
id |
sg-ntu-dr.10356-169082 |
---|---|
record_format |
dspace |
spelling |
sg-ntu-dr.10356-1690822023-06-29T15:30:25Z Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities Koh, Jonas Zhi Xiang Bairoliya, Sakcham Cho, Zin Thida Cao, Bin School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences and Engineering (SCELSE) Engineering::Environmental engineering Plastisphere Biofilm Approximately 9 million metric tons of plastics enters the ocean annually, and once in the marine environment, plastic surfaces can be quickly colonised by marine microorganisms, forming a biofilm. Studies on plastic debris-biofilm associations, known as plastisphere, have increased exponentially within the last few years. In this review, we first briefly summarise methods and techniques used in exploring plastic-microbe interactions. Then we highlight research gaps and provide future research opportunities for marine plastisphere studies, especially, on plastic characterisation and standardised biodegradation tests, the fate of "environmentally friendly" plastics, and plastisphere of coastal habitats. Located in the tropics, Southeast Asian (SEA) countries are significant contributors to marine plastic debris. However, plastisphere studies in this region are lacking and therefore, we discuss how the unique environmental conditions in the SEA seas may affect plastic-microbe interaction and why there is an imperative need to conduct plastisphere studies in SEA marine environments. Finally, we also highlight the lack of understanding of the pathogenicity and ecotoxicological effects of plastisphere on marine ecosystems. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version This research was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore, under its NERC-NRF Joint Grant Call (Award No.: NRF-NERC-SEAP-2020-02) and by the NRF and Ministry of Education Singapore under its Research Centre of Excellence Programme, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (M4330005.C70 to B.C.), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 2023-06-28T06:44:05Z 2023-06-28T06:44:05Z 2023 Journal Article Koh, J. Z. X., Bairoliya, S., Cho, Z. T. & Cao, B. (2023). Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities. Environment International, 171, 107716-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107716 0160-4120 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169082 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107716 36587499 2-s2.0-85145340947 171 107716 en NRF-NERC-SEAP-2020-02 M4330005.C70 Environment International © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/). application/pdf |
institution |
Nanyang Technological University |
building |
NTU Library |
continent |
Asia |
country |
Singapore Singapore |
content_provider |
NTU Library |
collection |
DR-NTU |
language |
English |
topic |
Engineering::Environmental engineering Plastisphere Biofilm |
spellingShingle |
Engineering::Environmental engineering Plastisphere Biofilm Koh, Jonas Zhi Xiang Bairoliya, Sakcham Cho, Zin Thida Cao, Bin Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
description |
Approximately 9 million metric tons of plastics enters the ocean annually, and once in the marine environment, plastic surfaces can be quickly colonised by marine microorganisms, forming a biofilm. Studies on plastic debris-biofilm associations, known as plastisphere, have increased exponentially within the last few years. In this review, we first briefly summarise methods and techniques used in exploring plastic-microbe interactions. Then we highlight research gaps and provide future research opportunities for marine plastisphere studies, especially, on plastic characterisation and standardised biodegradation tests, the fate of "environmentally friendly" plastics, and plastisphere of coastal habitats. Located in the tropics, Southeast Asian (SEA) countries are significant contributors to marine plastic debris. However, plastisphere studies in this region are lacking and therefore, we discuss how the unique environmental conditions in the SEA seas may affect plastic-microbe interaction and why there is an imperative need to conduct plastisphere studies in SEA marine environments. Finally, we also highlight the lack of understanding of the pathogenicity and ecotoxicological effects of plastisphere on marine ecosystems. |
author2 |
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
author_facet |
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Koh, Jonas Zhi Xiang Bairoliya, Sakcham Cho, Zin Thida Cao, Bin |
format |
Article |
author |
Koh, Jonas Zhi Xiang Bairoliya, Sakcham Cho, Zin Thida Cao, Bin |
author_sort |
Koh, Jonas Zhi Xiang |
title |
Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
title_short |
Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
title_full |
Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
title_fullStr |
Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
title_sort |
plastic-microbe interaction in the marine environment: research methods and opportunities |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169082 |
_version_ |
1772828239245344768 |