Cross-Hemisphere Study Reveals Geographically Ubiquitous, Plastic-Specific Bacteria Emerging from the Rare and Unexplored Biosphere
Brittan S. Scales, Rachel Cable, Melissa B. Duhaime, Gunnar Gerdts, Franziska Fischer, Dieter Fischer, Stephanie Mothes, Lisa Hintzki, Lynn Moldaenke, Matthias Ruwe, Jörn Kalinowski, Bernd Kreikemeyer, Maria Luiza Pedrotti, Gabriel Gorsky, Amanda Elineau, Matthias Labrenz, Sonja Oberbeckmann
Abstract
This study represents one of the largest comparisons of biofilms from environmentally sampled plastic and nonplastic particles from aquatic environments. By including particles sampled through three separate campaigns in the Baltic, Sargasso, and Mediterranean seas, we were able to make cross-geographical comparisons and discovered common taxonomical signatures that define the plastic biofilm. For the first time, we identified plastic-specific bacteria that reoccur across marine regions. Our data reveal that plastics have selective properties that repeatedly enrich for similar bacteria regardless of location, potentially shifting aquatic microbial communities in areas with high levels of plastic pollution. Furthermore, we show that bacterial communities on plastic do not appear to be strongly influenced by polymer type, suggesting that other properties, such as the absorption and/or leaching of chemicals from the surface, are likely to be more important in the selection and enrichment of specific microorganisms.