New communities of fungi and bacteria seem to be enjoying and thriving on the massive amounts of tiny bits of plastic present in lakes and oceans. >Welcome to the Plastisphere, a biological wilderness on microbial reefs of polyethylene and polypropylene in the open ocean teeming with single-celled animals, fungi and bacteria, many of them newly discovered. Some may be pathogens hitching rides on floating junk. >Using scanning electron microscopes and gene sequencing techniques, the team found at least 1,000 different types of bacteria, diatoms and algae attached to seaborne rubbish. They also discovered microbes embedded in cracks and pits on plastic surfaces indicating they may be capable of degrading hydrocarbons. >Of particular concern was a sample of polypropylene -- about the size of the head of a pin -- dominated by members of the genus vibrio, which includes bacteria that cause cholera and gastrointestinal ailments. >Another surprise: Some microbes seem to have acquired a taste for polypropylene. Others, however, prefer polyethylene. >“We still don’t know what they may be getting out of it,” Mincer said. “Not much nutrition there.” latimes/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ocean-plastisphere-habitat20130801,0,2034920.story
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 13:50:02 +0000
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