Microplastics Reduce Short-Term Effects of Environmental Contaminants. Part II: Polyethylene Particles Decrease the Effect of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on Microorganisms

Julia Kleinteich, Sven Seidensticker, Nikolaj Marggrander and Christiane Zarfl
Additional contact information
Julia Kleinteich: Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany
Sven Seidensticker: Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany
Nikolaj Marggrander: Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany
Christiane Zarfl: Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Microplastic particles in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are currently discussed as an emerging persistent organic pollutant and as acting as a vector for hydrophobic chemicals. Microplastic particles may ultimately deposit and accumulate in soil as well as marine and freshwater sediments where they can be harmful to organisms. In this study, we tested the sensitivity of natural freshwater sediment bacterial communities (by genetic fingerprint) to exposure to microplastics (polyethylene, 2 and 20 mg/g sediment) and microplastics loaded with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, phenanthrene and anthracene), using a laboratory-based approach. After two weeks of incubation, the bacterial community composition from an unpolluted river section was altered by high concentrations of microplastics, whereas the community downstream of a wastewater treatment plant remained unchanged. Low microplastic concentrations loaded with phenanthrene or anthracene induced a less pronounced response in the sediment communities compared to the same total amount of phenanthrene or anthracene alone. In addition, biodegradation of the PAHs was reduced. This study shows, that microplastic can affect bacterial community composition in unpolluted freshwater sediments. Moreover, the results indicate that microplastics can serve as a vehicle for hydrophobic pollutants but bioavailability of the latter is reduced by the sorption to microplastics.

Keywords: microplastics; vector effect; freshwater sediment; bacteria; polyethylene; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/2/287/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/2/287/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:2:p:287-:d:130673

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().