Riverine microplastic and microbial community compositions : A field study in the netherlands

Mughini-Gras, Lapo
van der Plaats, Rozemarijn Q.J.
van der Wielen, Paul W.J.J.
Bauerlein, Patrick S.
de Roda Husman, Ana Maria

Open link

Publication date

January 2021

DOI

10.1016/j.watres.2021.116852

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Abstract

Plastic pollution in aquatic environments, particularly microplastics (<5 mm), is an emerging health threat. The buoyancy, hydrophobic hard surfaces, novel polymer carbon sources and long-distance transport make microplastics a unique substrate for biofilms, potentially harbouring pathogens and enabling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene exchange. Microplastic concentrations, their polymer types and the associated microbial communities were determined in paired, contemporaneous samples from the Dutch portion of the river Rhine. Microplastics were collected through a cascade of 500/100/10 μm sieves; filtrates and surface water were also analysed. Microplastics were characterized with infrared spectroscopy. Microbial communities and selected...