Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e43530 |
| Journal | Heliyon |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 25 Jun 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2025 |
Abstract
Plastics pose a significant environmental threat, prompting extensive studies on their impact. These studies often focus on the differential bacterial compositions of biofilms growing on plastic surfaces. However, little is known about the influence of plastics on bacterial communities in surrounding environments such as eulittoral sandy beach sediments. Therefore, we investigated the effects of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and biodegradable plastic alternative, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), alongside bamboo as a natural material, on Mediterranean Sea beach sediments in a 258-day field test. After exposure, 16S rDNA sequencing analysis revealed that a distinct bacterial community developed in the sediments surrounding test materials, differing significantly from natural sediments that were not in contact with test materials. The test material-contact sediment displayed a higher relative abundance of bacterial orders capable of test material biodegradation. The test material's impact on surrounding sediments varied depending on its type and biodegradability. The sediments in contact with biodegradable materials (PHB and Bamboo) showed a higher number of unique orders than HDPE-contact and natural sediments. The comparison of biofilm growing on PHB with PHB-contact and natural sediments showed that the PHB biofilm contained a higher abundance of PHB-degrading bacterial orders (e.g. Desulfobacterales) and its bacterial composition was significantly different from that of PHB-contact and natural sediments, indicating that the effect of the test materials was most pronounced on their surface. Our study is novel as it demonstrates that the effects of plastics, their replacements, and natural materials extend beyond surface biofilms and impact surrounding environments, emphasizing the need for future research to consider the broader ecological implications of plastics.
Keywords
- Bacterial diversity, Biodegradable plastics, Marine pollution, Plastic waste, Sediments
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Heliyon, Vol. 11, No. 12, e43530, 07.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Material Matters
T2 - Unraveling the effect of biodegradable plastic polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), conventional high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and bamboo on the bacterial community of marine eulittoral sediments
AU - Bhalerao, Aniruddha
AU - Dueker, Urda
AU - Weber, Miriam
AU - Eich, Andreas
AU - Lott, Christian
AU - Lecinski, Jacek
AU - Endres, Hans Josef
AU - Nogueira, Regina
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/7
Y1 - 2025/7
N2 - Plastics pose a significant environmental threat, prompting extensive studies on their impact. These studies often focus on the differential bacterial compositions of biofilms growing on plastic surfaces. However, little is known about the influence of plastics on bacterial communities in surrounding environments such as eulittoral sandy beach sediments. Therefore, we investigated the effects of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and biodegradable plastic alternative, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), alongside bamboo as a natural material, on Mediterranean Sea beach sediments in a 258-day field test. After exposure, 16S rDNA sequencing analysis revealed that a distinct bacterial community developed in the sediments surrounding test materials, differing significantly from natural sediments that were not in contact with test materials. The test material-contact sediment displayed a higher relative abundance of bacterial orders capable of test material biodegradation. The test material's impact on surrounding sediments varied depending on its type and biodegradability. The sediments in contact with biodegradable materials (PHB and Bamboo) showed a higher number of unique orders than HDPE-contact and natural sediments. The comparison of biofilm growing on PHB with PHB-contact and natural sediments showed that the PHB biofilm contained a higher abundance of PHB-degrading bacterial orders (e.g. Desulfobacterales) and its bacterial composition was significantly different from that of PHB-contact and natural sediments, indicating that the effect of the test materials was most pronounced on their surface. Our study is novel as it demonstrates that the effects of plastics, their replacements, and natural materials extend beyond surface biofilms and impact surrounding environments, emphasizing the need for future research to consider the broader ecological implications of plastics.
AB - Plastics pose a significant environmental threat, prompting extensive studies on their impact. These studies often focus on the differential bacterial compositions of biofilms growing on plastic surfaces. However, little is known about the influence of plastics on bacterial communities in surrounding environments such as eulittoral sandy beach sediments. Therefore, we investigated the effects of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and biodegradable plastic alternative, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), alongside bamboo as a natural material, on Mediterranean Sea beach sediments in a 258-day field test. After exposure, 16S rDNA sequencing analysis revealed that a distinct bacterial community developed in the sediments surrounding test materials, differing significantly from natural sediments that were not in contact with test materials. The test material-contact sediment displayed a higher relative abundance of bacterial orders capable of test material biodegradation. The test material's impact on surrounding sediments varied depending on its type and biodegradability. The sediments in contact with biodegradable materials (PHB and Bamboo) showed a higher number of unique orders than HDPE-contact and natural sediments. The comparison of biofilm growing on PHB with PHB-contact and natural sediments showed that the PHB biofilm contained a higher abundance of PHB-degrading bacterial orders (e.g. Desulfobacterales) and its bacterial composition was significantly different from that of PHB-contact and natural sediments, indicating that the effect of the test materials was most pronounced on their surface. Our study is novel as it demonstrates that the effects of plastics, their replacements, and natural materials extend beyond surface biofilms and impact surrounding environments, emphasizing the need for future research to consider the broader ecological implications of plastics.
KW - Bacterial diversity
KW - Biodegradable plastics
KW - Marine pollution
KW - Plastic waste
KW - Sediments
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105008721598&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43530
DO - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43530
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105008721598
VL - 11
JO - Heliyon
JF - Heliyon
SN - 2405-8440
IS - 12
M1 - e43530
ER -