Abandoned disposable masks become hot substrates for plastisphere, whether in soil, atmosphere or water.

ABSTRACT: A large number of surgical masks (SMs) to be discarded indiscriminately during the spread of COVID-19. The relationship between the changes of masks entering the environment and the succession of the microorganisms on them is not yet clear. The natural aging process of SMs in different environments (water, soil, and atmosphere) was simulated, the changes and succession of the microbial community on SMs with aging time were explored. The results showed that the SMs in water environment had the highest aging degree, followed by atmospheric environment, and SMs in soil had the lowest aging degree. The results of high-throughput sequencing demonstrated the load capacity of SMs for microorganisms, showed the important role of environment in determining microbial species on SMs. According to the

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10060800 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature