Biofilm Formation Influences the Wettability and Settling of Microplastics
Biofilm Formation Influences the Wettability and Settling of Microplastics
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00728
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发表时间：
2022-10-25
影响因子：
10.9
通讯作者：
Bharti，Bhuvnesh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Pete，Amber J.;Brahana，Philip J.;Bharti，Bhuvnesh
海洋中99%的塑料的命运未知。据推测，塑料上形成的生物膜导致它们沉入海底，从而使它们在海面上无法被检测到。虽然已经确定生物膜会导致塑料下沉，但生物膜增强塑料垂直运输的机制仍然未知。人们通常认为，生物膜增加了塑料的有效质量密度，从而推动了塑料的下沉。在这里，我们表明这样的假设并不总是正确的，单独形成生物膜是一个不足以预测塑料下沉或漂浮的标准。我们研究了在alcanivorax borkumensis，Anabaenasp存在下聚乙烯微塑料的生物膜形成和垂直运输。和长聚球菌。我们发现，虽然这三种微生物都在微塑料上形成了生物膜，但只有铝酸盐导致了它们的下沉。微塑料的下沉是由于alcanivoraxs产生的高活性生物表面活性剂及其在微塑料上的吸附，而厌氧藻球菌和聚藻球菌则不是这样。我们的研究强调，不仅是形成的生物膜，而且是形成的生物膜的性质决定了塑料的下沉或漂浮。
The fate of 99% of the plastics present in oceans is unknown. It is presumed that biofilm formation on plastics leads to their sinking to the ocean floor, thus making them undetectable at the surface. While it is established that biofilms lead to sinking of plastics, it is the mechanism by which biofilms enhance the vertical transport of plastics that remains unknown. It is commonly assumed that biofilms increase the effective mass density of the plastics, which drives their sinking. Here, we show that such an assumption is not always true, and formation of biofilms alone is an insufficient criterion to predict the sinking or floating of plastics. We study the biofilm formation and vertical transport of polyethylene microplastics in the presence ofAlcanivorax borkumensis,Anabaenasp., andSynechococcus elongatus. We find that while all three microorganisms formed biofilms on microplastics, onlyAlcanivoraxled to their sinking. The sinking of microplastics is attributed to the production of highly active biosurfactants byAlcanivoraxand its adsorption onto microplastics, which is not the case forAnabaenaandSynechococcus. Our study highlights that it is not only the formation but the properties of the formed biofilms that govern the sinking or floating of plastics.