The Levels of Plastic-associated Heterotrophic Bacteria on Three Different Types of Plastics

Abstract

Plastic pollution in marine ecosystems is one of the most important study topics in recent years. The toxicity, mobility and long-term persistence characteristics of plastics create risk in ecosystems, biota and human health. In this study, the levels of heterotrophic bacteria attached to the surfaces of commonly used plastic types; polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP) were tested in a mechanical experimental system prepared with seawater under controlled conditions in laboratory. The seawater, which was used in the experimental system, was taken under aseptic conditions from the Golden Horn Estuary, located in the Istanbul region of Turkey. Three different types of plastic (PVC, PE and PP), in two different (glass slide (76x26 cm) and virgin micro pellets (5mm diameter) size, were placed in the experiment setup filled with seawater and incubated for 28 days at ambient temperature. At the end of 28 days, the counts of heterotrophic bacteria were tested using the spread plate technique on Marine Agar (Difco), in both plastic surfaces and surrounding seawater. The levels of heterotrophic bacteria were recorded to be lower in the seawater surrounding the micropellets and lam-size plastic samples. The seawater sample bacterial levels were recorded as 12x109 CFU/ml, at the start of the experiment. At the end of the 28th days, it was recorded to be 83x109 CFU/ml. The highest levels of heterotrophic bacteria were recorded as 41x1010 CFU /cm-2 and 61x1010 CFU /cm-2 on the lam-size surfaces and the micropellet surface of the polypropylene samples, respectively. In the experiments, the PP plastic type has been recorded as a more preferred plastic derivative by heterotrophic bacteria according to the PVC and PE plastic types, but there has been no significant difference in the bacterial adhesion rates on the surfaces. The study contributed increasing knowledge on the bacterial approach to microplastics types. However, there is a need for long term studies related to the mechanism of bacteria attached to microplastics.

Keywords

• Microplastic,heterotrophic bacteria,polyvinylchloride,polyethylene,polypropylene

References

1. Altuğ, G., Çardak, M., Çiftci, P. S., Gürün, S. (2007). Levels of Heterotrophic Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Bacterial Biofilm Layer on Various Materials, Turkish Journal of Aquatic Life, 3-5(5-8), 561−566.
2. APHA (1998). Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater 20th Edition. Clesceri, L. S., A. E Greenberg and A.D Eaton (eds). American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation. Washington, D.C.
3. AT&T (2017). ‘Plastik Sektörü, Ekonomik Araştırmalar Departmanı, Web sitesi: https://www.atbank.com.tr/documents/PLASTIK%20SEKTORU _MAYIS%202017.PDF [accessed 17.05.2018] (In Turkish).
4. Bordalo, A. A., Onrassami, R., Dechsakulwatana, C. (2002). Survival of faecal indicator bacteria in tropical estuarine waters (Bangpakong River, Thailand). Journal of Applied Biology, 93(5), 864-871. [CrossRef]
5. Boucher, J. and Friot D. (2017). Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: A Global Evaluation of Sources. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 43pp. [CrossRef]
6. Browne, M. A., Crump, P., Niven, S. J., Teuten, E. L., Tonkin, A., Galloway, T., Thompson, R.C. (2011), Accumulations of Microplastic on Shorelines Worldwide: Sources and Sinks, Environmental Science & Technology, 45, 9175−9179. [CrossRef]
7. Carpenter, E. J., Anderson, S. J., Harvey, G. R., Miklas, H. P., Peck, B. B. (1972). Polystyrene spherules in coastal waters. Science, 178(4062), 749−750. [CrossRef]
8. Carpenter, E. J., Smith, K. L Jr. (1972). Plastics on the Sargasso sea surface. Science, 175(4027), 1240−1241. [CrossRef]

9. Carson, H. S., Nerheim, M. S., Carroll, K. A., Eriksen, M. (2013). The plastic-associated microorganisms of the North Pacific Gyre, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 75(1-2), 126−132. [CrossRef]
10. Chen, K., He, R. (2015). Mean circulation in the coastal ocean off northeastern North America from a regional-scale ocean model, Ocean Science, 11, 503–517. [CrossRef]
11. Costa, F., Costa, E., Campos, L. (2011). Plastics in The Antarctic Environment: Are We Looking Only at The Tip of The Iceberg?, Oecologia Australis, 15(1), 150−170. [CrossRef]
12. Çiftçi, Z. (2005). Kronik tonsilitte biyofilmin rolü [Uzmanlık Tezi]. İstanbul, Taksim Eğitim Araştırma Hastanesi KKB Kliniği.
13. Davey, M. E., O’toole, G. A. (2000). Microbial Biofilms: From Ecology To Molecular Genetics. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 64(4): 847−848. [CrossRef]
14. Donlan, R. M. (2002). Biofilms: Microbial Life on Surfaces, Emerging Infectious Diseases, 8(9), 881−890. [CrossRef]
15. Endo, S., Takizawa, R., Okuda, K., Takada, H., Chiba, K., Kanehiro, H., Ogi, H.,Yamashita, R., Date, T. (2005). Concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in beached resin pellets: Variability among individual particles and regional differences. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50(10), 1103−1114. [CrossRef]
16. Gündoğdu, S., Çevik, C., Karaca, S. (2017). Fouling assemblage of benthic plastic debris collected from Mersin Bay, NE Levantine coast of Turkey. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 124(1), 147−154. [CrossRef]
17. Hall-Stoodley, L., Costerton, J. W., Stoodley, P. (2004). Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases, Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2(2), 95−108. [CrossRef]
18. Haward, M. (2018). Plastic pollution of the world’s seas and oceans as a contemporary challenge in ocean governance. Nature Communications, 9, 667. [CrossRef]
19. Hodgson, D. J., Bréchon, A. L., Thompson, R. C. (2018). Ingestion and fragmentation of plastic carrier bags by the amphipod Orchestia gammarellus: Effects of plastic type and fouling load. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 127, 154−159. [CrossRef]
20. International Pellet Watch. (2018). Pollutants in Pellet, Web adresi: http:// www.pelletwatch.org/en/pollutants.html [accessed 28.02.2018]
21. Kaiser, D., Kowalski, N., Waniek, J. J. (2017). Effects of biofouling on the sinking behavior of microplastics. Environmental Research Letters, 12(12), 1−10. [CrossRef]
22. Kooi, M., Nes, E. H., Scheffer, M. Koelmans, A. (2017). Ups and Downs in the Ocean: Effects of Biofouling on Vertical Transport of Microplastics. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(14), 7963−7971. [CrossRef]
23. Lobelle, D., Cunliffe, M. (2011). Early microbial biofilm formation on marine plastic debris. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62(1), 197−200. [CrossRef]
24. Mato, Y., Isobe, T., Takada, H., Kanehiro, H., Ohtake, C., Kaminuma, T. (2001). Plastic Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment. Environmental Science & Technology, 35(2), 318−324. [CrossRef]
25. Mckenney, D., Hübner, J., Muller, E., Wang, Y., Goldmann, D.A., Pier, G. B. (1998). The ica locus of Staphylococcus epidermidis encodes production of the capsular polysaccharide/adhesin, Infection and Immunity, 66(10), 4711–4720. [CrossRef]
26. Muthukumar, A., Veerappapillai, S. (2015). Biodegradation of Plastics, A Brief Review, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research, 31(2), 204−209.
27. Oberbeckmann, S., Kreikemeyer, B., Labrenz, M. (2018). Environmental Factors Support the Formation of Specific Bacterial Assemblages on Microplastics. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8(2709), 1−12. [CrossRef]
28. Palanichamy, S., Maruthamuthu S, Macickam, S. T., Rajendran, A. (2002). Microfouling of manganese-oxidizing bacteria in Tuticorin harbour waters, Current Science, 82(7), 865−869.
29. Pauli, N. C., Petermann, J. S., Lott, C., Weber, M. (2017). Macrofouling communities and the degradation of plastic bags in the sea: An in situ experiment. Royal Society Open Science, 4(10), 1−10. [CrossRef]
30. Rech, S., Thiel, M., Borrell, P., Yaisel J., García-Vazquez, E. (2018). Travelling light: Fouling biota on macroplastics arriving on beaches of remote Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 137, 119−128. [CrossRef]
31. Shah, A. A., Hasan, F., Hameed, A., Ahmed, S. (2008). Biological degradation of plastics: a comprehensive review., Biotechnology Advances, 26(3), 246−265. [CrossRef]
32. Shimao, M. (2001). Biodegradation of plastics., Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 12(3), 242−247. [CrossRef]
33. Yurtsever, M. (2015). Microplastics: An Overview, İzmir Üniversitesi Fen ve Mühendislik Dergisi, 17(50), 68−83.
34. Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J., Zettler, L. A. A. (2013). Life in the “Plastisphere”: Microbial Communities on Plastic Marine Debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(13), 7137–7146. [CrossRef]