In marine environments, there are particular types of microbes that love plastic. They're all over the stuff, happily binding to it and forming coatings. This spring, intrepid scientists are testing samples from an estuary in Northern England to see what they can uncover about these mysterious microbes.
We know that small plastic pellets can absorb dangerous chemicals and threaten marine wildlife. Some plastic floating in the ocean reacts to the sun, other plastic likely sinks to the ocean floor. Scientists at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science, an applied marine science center, are using DNA testing for the first time to understand which microbes attach to the common plastic called polyethylene. Instead of being cultured in a lab, these microbes came straight from the Humber Estuary, says Jesse Harrison, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield who is working on the project with microbiology senior lecturer Mark Osborn and Michaela Schratzberger of CEFAS.
"Our research is laying the foundations for further work which could address more technological questions, including the ability of microbes to break down plastic-associated pollutants or even the plastics themselves," Harrison told me.
The microbes include bacteria, archaea, and microscopic eukaryotes. While the research is still ongoing, Harrison says that the types of bacteria attaching to plastic and colonizing it primarily belong to the Gamma-proteobacteria class. The current theory is that some microbe species can produce enzymes that allow them to use plastic as an energy source, converting parts of the plastic into various compounds. This kind of biodegration is poorly understood, though, which makes me feel slightly better about not being able to explain how plastic-eating bugs function when I wrote about them in the past.
Next the scientists will be looking at a larger segment of microbial habitat types in the coastal seabed to see if the microbial species that like plastic vary across different environments. I'm glad these folks are hot on the trail because it's surprising how little we know. While the scientists' research is too early to have concrete technical applications, deciphering microbes' tastes could help solve the question of what ultimately happens to some of the plastic pieces caught in ocean gyres. Perhaps one day we can even harness these marine microbes to help us deal with the plastic problem on dry land.
Photo: UK scientists are studying the microbes that like to coat plastic in the ocean. The 5 Gyres project pulled this plastic piece out of the water during a recent expedition. Credit: Stiv Wilson, 5 Gyres.
Tags: Green Science, Green Tech, Plastic, Pollution, Water
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