The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.

Once in the ocean, plastics are rapidly colonized by complex microbial communities. Factors affecting the development and composition of these communities are still poorly understood. Additionally, whether there are plastic-type specific communities developing on different plastics remains enigmatic...

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Main Authors: Maria Pinto, Teresa M Langer, Thorsten Hüffer, Thilo Hofmann, Gerhard J Herndl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217165
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author Maria Pinto
Teresa M Langer
Thorsten Hüffer
Thilo Hofmann
Gerhard J Herndl
author_facet Maria Pinto
Teresa M Langer
Thorsten Hüffer
Thilo Hofmann
Gerhard J Herndl
author_sort Maria Pinto
collection DOAJ
description Once in the ocean, plastics are rapidly colonized by complex microbial communities. Factors affecting the development and composition of these communities are still poorly understood. Additionally, whether there are plastic-type specific communities developing on different plastics remains enigmatic. We determined the development and succession of bacterial communities on different plastics under ambient and dim light conditions in the coastal Northern Adriatic over the course of two months using scanning electron microscopy and 16S rRNA gene analyses. Plastics used were low- and high-density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE, respectively), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride with two typical additives (PVC DEHP and PVC DINP). The bacterial communities developing on the plastics clustered in two groups; one group was found on PVC and the other group on all the other plastics and on glass, which was used as an inert control. Specific bacterial taxa were found on specific surfaces in essentially all stages of biofilm development and in both ambient and dim light conditions. Differences in bacterial community composition between the different plastics and light exposures were stronger after an incubation period of one week than at the later stages of the incubation. Under both ambient and dim light conditions, one part of the bacterial community was common on all plastic types, especially in later stages of the biofilm development, with families such as Flavobacteriaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Planctomycetaceae and Phyllobacteriaceae presenting relatively high relative abundances on all surfaces. Another part of the bacterial community was plastic-type specific. The plastic-type specific fraction was variable among the different plastic types and was more abundant after one week of incubation than at later stages of the succession.
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spelling doaj-art-af44cdfd15aa4ad4876c9bf65b19d0782024-12-13T05:31:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01146e021716510.1371/journal.pone.0217165The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.Maria PintoTeresa M LangerThorsten HüfferThilo HofmannGerhard J HerndlOnce in the ocean, plastics are rapidly colonized by complex microbial communities. Factors affecting the development and composition of these communities are still poorly understood. Additionally, whether there are plastic-type specific communities developing on different plastics remains enigmatic. We determined the development and succession of bacterial communities on different plastics under ambient and dim light conditions in the coastal Northern Adriatic over the course of two months using scanning electron microscopy and 16S rRNA gene analyses. Plastics used were low- and high-density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE, respectively), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride with two typical additives (PVC DEHP and PVC DINP). The bacterial communities developing on the plastics clustered in two groups; one group was found on PVC and the other group on all the other plastics and on glass, which was used as an inert control. Specific bacterial taxa were found on specific surfaces in essentially all stages of biofilm development and in both ambient and dim light conditions. Differences in bacterial community composition between the different plastics and light exposures were stronger after an incubation period of one week than at the later stages of the incubation. Under both ambient and dim light conditions, one part of the bacterial community was common on all plastic types, especially in later stages of the biofilm development, with families such as Flavobacteriaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Planctomycetaceae and Phyllobacteriaceae presenting relatively high relative abundances on all surfaces. Another part of the bacterial community was plastic-type specific. The plastic-type specific fraction was variable among the different plastic types and was more abundant after one week of incubation than at later stages of the succession.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217165
spellingShingle Maria Pinto
Teresa M Langer
Thorsten Hüffer
Thilo Hofmann
Gerhard J Herndl
The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
PLoS ONE
title The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
title_full The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
title_fullStr The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
title_full_unstemmed The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
title_short The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession.
title_sort composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217165
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