Sulfur-loving bacteria may help break down river plastic
Kong T, Du Z, Zhou J, Zheng Z, Zhang J
Soil Health
The sediment chemistry in a creek behind a mine site or old industrial site turns out to shape which microbes colonize trash and how fast that plastic actually breaks down, a reminder that soil and water chemistry drive decomposition everywhere, not just in your compost bin.
Scientists pulled pieces of plastic trash out of river mud near a mining site and found a specific type of bacteria, called Paenibacillus, living all over the plastic surfaces. These bacteria seem to use sulfur from the water to help chew through the plastic's carbon, and the more sulfur in the mud, the more of these bacteria showed up. It's an early clue that pollution from mining and pollution from plastic interact in ways nobody expected.
Key Findings
Paenibacillus bacteria were identified as core members of plastisphere communities on river plastic debris, with their abundance strongly tied to total sulfur concentration in sediment
Genomic analysis of a Paenibacillus isolate and its metagenome-assembled genome revealed an almost complete assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway but no complete dissimilatory sulfate reduction pathway
Lab experiments showed sulfate amendment supported plastic mineralization by the isolate, though the exact in situ mechanism remains unclear
chevron_right Technical Summary
Bacteria living on plastic trash in polluted, sulfur-heavy river sediments may help break the plastic down, using sulfur from the water as part of their metabolism. This suggests that sulfur pollution and microplastic pollution are more connected than scientists realized.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Assimilatory sulfate reduction potential in the plastisphere microbiome is linked to plastic mineralization in sulfur-rich mining-impacted river sediments.
Microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces are shaped by environmental factors, yet the role of sulfur in plastisphere assembly and plastic fate remains poorly understood. Here, we collected...
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