Surface structures changes and biofilm communities development of degradable plastics during aging in coastal seawater

Lin Zhang; Huimin You; Jianfei Chen; Baoquan Huang; Yaozong Cui; Kazi Belayet Hossain; Qinghua Chen; Minggang Cai; Qingrong Qian

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114996

Surface structures changes and biofilm communities development of degradable plastics during aging in coastal seawater

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Aug:193:114996. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114996. Epub 2023 Jun 9.

Authors

Lin Zhang¹, Huimin You², Jianfei Chen¹, Baoquan Huang¹, Yaozong Cui³, Kazi Belayet Hossain², Qinghua Chen¹, Minggang Cai⁴, Qingrong Qian⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, College of Carbon Neutral Modern Industry, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China; Engineering Research Center of Polymer Green Recycling of Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; Coastal and Ocean Management Institute, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; College of Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
³ College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; Coastal and Ocean Management Institute, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. Electronic address: mgcai@xmu.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, College of Carbon Neutral Modern Industry, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China; Engineering Research Center of Polymer Green Recycling of Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China. Electronic address: qrqian@fjnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37301614
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114996

Abstract

Biodegradable plastics (BPs) are a suitable alternative to conventional plastics. Still, their excessive or unplanned use may disrupt the abundance and community structure of the microbial population. To this end, a 58-day experiment in which biodegradable plastic objects, such as bags and boxes, were exposed to near-coastal seawater was conducted. They also assessed how they affected the diversity and organization of bacterial populations in seawater and on the surface of BPs products. It is evident that after the exposure time, both BP's bag and box products deteriorate in the ocean to varying degrees. The results of high-throughput sequencing of bacterial communities in seawater and those colonized on BPs products reveal significant differences in microbial community structures between seawater and BPs plastic samples. These suggest that the degradation of biodegradable plastics is shadowed by microorganisms and exposure time, while BP products influence the structural characteristics of microbial communities.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Bacterial community; Biodegradable plastics; Degradation; Near-shore.

MeSH terms

Bacteria
Biodegradable Plastics*
Biofilms
Plastics* / chemistry
Seawater / microbiology

Substances

Plastics
Biodegradable Plastics