ocean-plastics

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Robustness of microbial quantification methods to seawater in marine plastic biodegradation test.

PubMed · 2026-05-20

Researchers tested four methods for counting microbes in seawater and found that manual cell counting and quantitative PCR (a DNA-based technique) were the most reliable and consistent for studying how plastics break down in the ocean.

Manual cell counting and quantitative PCR were both repeatable and reproducible in seawater environments.

All four methods were evaluated for compatibility with seawater, but only two passed as reliable for biodegradation testing.

The study recommends that marine plastic biodegradation tests should always pair results with a carefully vetted microbial quantification method.

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