Culturing the Plastisphere: comparing methods to isolate culturable bacteria colonising microplastics.

ABSTRACT: Microplastics quickly become colonised by diverse microbial communities, known as the Plastisphere. There is growing concern that microplastics may support the enrichment and spread of pathogenic or antimicrobial resistant microorganisms, although research to support the unique role of microplastics in comparison to control particles remains inconclusive. Limitations to this research include the microbiological methods available for isolating adhered microbes. Culture-based methods provide some of the most established, accessible and cost-effective microbiological protocols, which could be extremely useful in helping to address some of the remaining key questions in Plastisphere research. Previous works have successfully cultured bacteria from plastics, but these have not yet been reviewed

SUBMITTER: Stevenson EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10579789 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature