Scientists have discovered thriving colonies of over 1000 types of microbes living on tiny pieces of ocean plastic debris, known as the "plastisphere". These complex microbial communities have developed since the explosion of plastics in the oceans over the last 60 years. The microbes on the plastic are distinct from those in surrounding seawater, raising questions about how these plastic-based habitats could impact ocean ecosystems and microbial transport.

1. Scientists Discover Thriving
Colonies of Microbes in
Ocean ' Plastisphere'
RELATED ARTICLE:
http://crowncapitalmanagement.quora.com/
http://jonahkebblescrowncapitalecomanagement.blogspot.com/

2. I n a st udy recent ly published online inEnvironmentalScience&
Technology, t he scient ist s say t he plast isphere represent s
a novel ecological habit at in t he ocean and raises a
host of quest ions: How will it change environment al
condit ions f or marine microbes, f avoring some t hat
compet e wit h ot hers? How will it change t he overall
ocean ecosyst em and af f ect larger organisms? How
will it change where microbes, including pat hogens,
will be t ransport ed in t he ocean?
The collaborat ive t eam of scient ist s -- Erik Zet t ler
f rom Sea Educat ion Associat ion (SEA), Tracy Mincer
f rom Woods Hole Oceanographic I nst it ut ion (WHOI ),
and Linda Amaral-Zet t ler f rom t he Marine Biological

3. "We' re not j ust int erest ed in who' s t here. We' re
int erest ed in t heir f unct ion, how t hey' re f unct ioning
in t his ecosyst em, how t hey' re alt ering t his
ecosyst em, and what ' s t he ult imat e f at e of t hese
part icles in t he ocean," says Amaral-Zet t ler. "Are
t hey sinking t o t he bot t om of t he ocean? Are t hey
being ingest ed? I f t hey' re being ingest ed, what
impact does t hat have?"
Using scanning elect ron microscopy and gene
sequencing t echniques, t hey f ound at least 1000
dif f erent t ypes of bact erial cells on t he plast ic
samples, including many individual species yet t o be
ident if ied. They included plant s, algae, and bact eria

4. Suctorianciliatecoveredwithsymbioticbacteria, alongwithdiatoms, andfilamentsonweatheredandcrackedmicroplastic
debris. (Credit: ImagecourtesyofErikZettler, SeaEducationAssociation)

5. These complex communit ies exist on plast ic bit s
hardly bigger t han t he head of a pin, and t hey have
arisen wit h t he explosion of plast ics in t he oceans in
t he last 60 years.
"The organisms inhabit ing t he plast isphere were
dif f erent f rom t hose in surrounding seawat er,
indicat ing t hat plast ic debris act s as art if icial
' microbial reef s," says Mincer. "They supply a place
t hat select s f or and support s dist inct microbes t o
set t le and succeed."
These communit ies are likely dif f erent f rom t hose

6. On t he ot her hand, t he scient ist s also f ound evidence
t hat microbes may play a role in degrading plast ics.
They saw microscopic cracks and pit s in t he plast ic
surf aces t hat t hey suspect were made by microbes
embedded in t hem, as well as microbes possibly
capable of degrading hydrocarbons.
"When we f irst saw t he ' pit f ormers' we were very
excit ed, especially when t hey showed up on mult iple
pieces of plast ic of dif f erent t ypes of resins," said
Zet t ler, who added t hat undergraduat e st udent s
part icipat ing in SEA Semest er cruises collect ed and
processed t he samples. "Now we have t o f igure out

7. The plast ic debris also represent s a new mode of
t ransport at ion, act ing as raf t s t hat can convey
harmf ul microbes, including disease-causing pat hogens
and harmf ul algal species. One plast ic sampled t hey
analyzed was dominat ed by members of t he genus Vibrio,
which includes bact eria t hat cause cholera and
gast roint est inal maladies.
The proj ect was f unded by a Nat ional Science
Foundat ion Collaborat ive grant , a NSF TUES grant ,
and a Woods Hole Cent er f or Oceans and Human
Healt h Pilot award.
SharethisstoryonFacebook, Twi t t er, andGoogl e: