Microbial Ecotoxicology of Marine Plastic Debris: A Review on Colonization and Biodegradation by the "Plastisphere".

ABSTRACT: Over the last decades, it has become clear that plastic pollution presents a global societal and environmental challenge given its increasing presence in the oceans. A growing literature has focused on the microbial life growing on the surfaces of these pollutants called the "plastisphere," but the general concepts of microbial ecotoxicology have only rarely been integrated. Microbial ecotoxicology deals with (i) the impact of pollutants on microbial communities and inversely (ii) how much microbes can influence their biodegradation. The goal of this review is to enlighten the growing literature of the last 15 years on microbial ecotoxicology related to plastic pollution in the oceans. First, we focus on the impact of plastic on marine microbial life and on the various functions it ensures

SUBMITTER: Jacquin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6497127 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature