Effect of different size microplastic particles on the construction of algal-bacterial biofilms and microbial communities

Microplastics in wastewater treatment plant: Characterization of changes, influencing factors, and their impact on the spatial distribution of pathogenic bacteria

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been proposed as pivotal convergence points for microplastics (MPs) and hotspots of bacterial pathogens. In this study, the characteristics of MPs and bacteria in the sewage/sludge were investigated and their relationship was formulated. Meanwhile, this study innovatively focused on the impact of MPs on microbial aerosolization process in WWTP. MPs and pathogenic bacteria were identified in sewage/sludge samples from all treatment steps, in which the levels and compositions of them vary. However, Bacillus, Planifilum, Achromobacter, and Geobacillus were the dominant genera in bioaerosol samples. The dominant shape of MPs was fibers and fragments. The main size range of MPs were 0.5 - 1 mm, with the primary type of polyethylene and polypropylene. White was the most prevalent color. Furthermore, a significant correlation between MPs and bacterial community structure in sewage/sludge was observed. The abundance and some characteristics of MPs showed positive correlations with the relative abundances of some potential pathogens, including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter and Achromobacter. Aeration experiments demonstrated that the presence of MPs exerted an influence on the microbial aerosolization process. Collectively, this study provides a better understanding of the relationship between MPs and bacterial structures in a WWTP and offers new insights to the role of MPs on the microbial aerosolization process. The findings will provide a basis for the control and reduction of MPs and bacterial pathogens in WWTPs.

Bipartite trophic levels cannot resist the interference of microplastics: A case study of submerged macrophytes and snail

Some studies frequently focus on the toxic effects of compound pollution formed by microplastics and other pollutants on individual organisms, but it is still unclear how multi-trophic level organisms in compound communities resist the stress of microplastics. Thus, this research used a dose-response experiment (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1 mg L-1) to illustrate the influences that microplastics might have on two symbiotic freshwater organisms Vallisneria natans and Sinotaia quadrata. The results showed the reduction of V. natans biomass in 0.5 and 1 mg L-1 groups (28-38 %), and disturbances on the photosynthetic system, reduced the chlorophyll content (15-85 %) and maximum quantum yields (10-31 %). In the case of S. quadrata, which subsisted by scraping leaf biofilms, there was a disruption in the functioning of the antioxidant system. Concurrently, the activities of digestive and neurotransmitter enzymes were affected, potentially leading to detrimental impacts on the organism's essential physiological processes. The introduction of microplastics significantly enhanced the relative abundance of specific microbial taxa, such as Proteobacteria within the biofilm of V. natans leaves and chloroflexi in the rhizosphere, thereby altering the microbial community assembly process. This means the potential ecological functions with microbes as the carrier was influenced. These results indicated that microplastic in aquatic environments can impact the metabolism, autotrophic, and heterotrophic behavior of double-end trophic organisms through symbiotic activities. Therefore, our study reveals how polystyrene microplastics affect the growth of submerged aquatic plants and snails, and from the perspective of community integrity and health, the introduction of these pollutants into freshwater environments may cause disruptive effects.

Insight into the removal of nanoplastics and microplastics by physical, chemical, and biological techniques

Plastic pollutants create health crises like physical damage to tissues, upset reproductive processes, altered behaviour, oxidative stress, neurological disorders, DNA damage, gene expression, and disrupt physiological functions, as the biosphere accumulates them inadvertently through the food web. Water resources have become the generic host of plastic wastes irrespective of their particle size, resulting in widespread distribution in aquatic environments. The pre-treatment step of the traditional water treatment process can easily remove coarse-sized plastic wastes. However, the fine plastic particles, with sizes ranging from nanometres to millimetres, are indifferent to the traditional water treatment. To address the escalating problems, the upgradation of different traditional physical, chemical, and biological remediation techniques offers a promising avenue for tackling tiny plastic particles from the water environment. Further, new techniques and hybrid incorporations to the existing water treatment techniques have been explored, specifically removing tiny plastic debris. A detailed understanding of the sources, fate, and impact of plastic wastes in the environment, as well as an evaluation of the above treatment techniques and their limitations and challenges, can only show the way for their upgradation, hybridization, and development of new techniques. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge and techniques for the remediation of nanoplastics and microplastics.

A review focusing on mechanisms and ecological risks of enrichment and propagation of antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements by microplastic biofilms

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging ubiquitous pollutants in aquatic environment and have received extensive global attention. In addition to the traditional studies related to the toxicity of MPs and their carrier effects, their unique surface-induced biofilm formation also increases the ecotoxicity potential of MPs from multiple perspectives. In this review, the ecological risks of MPs biofilms were summarized and assessed in detail from several aspects, including the formation and factors affecting the development of MPs biofilms, the selective enrichment and propagation mechanisms of current pollution status of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in MPs biofilms, the dominant bacterial communities in MPs biofilms, as well as the potential risks of ARGs and MGEs transferring from MPs biofilms to aquatic organisms. On this basis, this paper also put forward the inadequacy and prospects of the current research and revealed that the MGEs-mediated ARG propagation on MPs under actual environmental conditions and the ecological risk of the transmission of ARGs and MGEs to aquatic organisms and human beings are hot spots for future research. Relevant research from the perspective of MPs biofilm should be carried out as soon as possible to provide support for the ecological pollution prevention and control of MPs.

Microplastics affect membrane biofouling and microbial communities during gravity-driven membrane filtration of primary wastewater

Recently, gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration has been adopted as an alternative solution for decentralized wastewater treatment due to easy installation and maintenance, reduced energy and operation cost, and low global warming impact. This study investigated the influence of microplastic size (0.5-0.8 μm and 40-48 μm) and amount (0.1 and 0.2 g/L) on the membrane performance and microbial community in GDM systems for primary municipal wastewater treatment. The results showed that dosing microplastics in the GDM systems led to 9-54% lower permeate flux than that in the control. This was attributed to more cake formation (up to 6.4-fold) with more deposition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS, up to 1.5-fold) and divalent cations (up to 2.1-fold) in the presence of microplastics, especially with increasing microplastic amount or size. However, the dosed microplastics promoted formation of heterogeneous cake layers with more porous nature, possibly because microplastics created void space in the cake and also tended to bind with divalent cations to reduce EPS-divalent cations interactions. In the biofilm of the GDM systems, the presence of microplastics could lower the number of total species, but it greatly enhanced the abundance of certain dominant prokaryotes (Phenylobacterium haematophilum, Planctomycetota bacterium, and Flavobacteriales bacterium), eukaryotes (Stylonychia lemnae, Halteria grandinella, and Paramicrosporidium saccamoebae), and virus (phylum Nucleocytoviricota), as well as amino acid and lipid metabolic functions. Especially, the small-size microplastics at a higher dosed amount led to more variations of microbial community structure and microbial metabolic functions.

Microplastics inhibit the growth of endosymbiotic Symbiodinium tridacnidorum by altering photosynthesis and bacterial community

Microplastics, ubiquitous anthropogenic marine pollutants, represent potential threats to coral-Symbiodiniaceae relationships in global reef ecosystems. However, the mechanism underlying the impacts of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) on Symbiodiniaceae remains poorly understood. In this study, the cytological, physiological, and microbial responses of Symbiodinium tridacnidorum, a representative Symbiodiniaceae species, to varying concentrations of PS-MPs (0, 5, 50, 100, and 200 mg L-1) were investigated. The results revealed that microplastic exposure inhibited cell division, resulting in reduced cell density compared to control group. Furthermore, algal photosynthetic activity, as indicated by chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm, and net photosynthetic rate, declined with increasing microplastic concentration up to 50 mg L-1. Notably, elevated levels of microplastics (100 and 200 mg L-1) prompted a significant increase in cell size in S. tridacnidorum. Transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy indicated that hetero-aggregation was formed between high levels of PS-MPs and algal cells, ultimately causing damage to S. tridacnidorum. Moreover, the impact of PS-MPs exposure on the bacterial community associated with S. tridacnidorum was investigated. The results showed a reduction in alpha diversity of the bacterial community in groups exposed to 50, 100, and 200 mg L-1 of microplastics compared to those treated with 0 and 5 mg L-1. Additionally, the relative abundance of Marinobacter, Marivita, and Filomicrobium significantly increased, while Algiphilus and norank Nannocystaceae declined after microplastic exposure. These findings suggest that MPs can inhibit the growth of S. tridacnidorum and alter the associated bacterial community, posing a potential serious threat to coral symbiosis involving S. tridacnidorum.

Progress on control of harmful algae by sustained-release technology of allelochemical: A review

The outbreak of harmful algae blooms caused by water eutrophication seriously jeopardizes the aquatic ecological environment and human health. Therefore, algae control technology has attracted widespread attention between environmental scholars. Allelochemical sustained-release technology which releases the active ingredient to the target medium at a certain rate within the effective time, so that the system maintains a certain concentration, thus prolonging its influence on the target organism. Allelochemical sustained-release technology has become the focus of research due to the characteristics of high efficiency, safety, low-cost, environment friendly and no secondary pollution. This paper reviews the characteristics of allelochemical substances and the status quo of plant extraction, explains the detailed classification of allelochemical sustained-release microspheres (ASRMs) and the application of algae inhibition, summarizes the preparation method of ASRMs, elaborates on the mechanism of algae inhibition of sustained-release technology from the perspective of photosynthesis, cellular enzyme activity, algae cell structure, gene expression, and target site action. Focuses on the summary of the factors influencing the effect of algae inhibition of ASRMs, including particle size of sustained-release microspheres, selection of carrier materials, and the growth stage of algae. The future direction and prospect of algae inhibition by allelochemical sustained-release technology were prospected to provide the scientific basis for water ecological restoration.