Within the oceans microorganisms function as pioneering surface colonisers on plastic pollution, driving ecosystem processes such as primary production (PP), biogeochemical cycling and biodegradation. Within the marine ecosystem plastics are agreed to offer a specific niche of microbial communities and the presence of pollution is known to stimulate microbial production as it supports growth and offers limited predation areas (Ghiglione et al, 2009).
Zettler et al (2013) state in in their paper 'Life in the 'Plastisphere'' that microbial communities could increase the decomposition rates of oceanic plastic pollution. As we know marine plastics tend to lead to the accumulation of microbial communities around them. The suggestion that micro-organisms can break down plastic polymers is not a novel idea, suggested as early as the 1980s. Zettler et als work utilise modern tecnhiques to definitively prove that bacteria can break down plastic. In their report the use of scanning electron microscopy unveil a diverse community of bacteria (heterotrophs, autotrophs, predators and symbionts) with bacterial shapes suggestive of 'active hydrolysis' of the hydrocarbon polymer plastic. Further rRNA gene surveys identify the hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, thus presenting the potential of microbial breakdown of plastic contaminants.
Dussud and Ghiglione review current knowledge of microbial degradation of plastic materials in their report and present the idea that bacteria could offer a natural method in dealing with oceanic plastic pollution. Bacterial degradation presents a low cost, efficient and environmentally friendly method of reducing oceanic plastic pollution in situ. Future pollution mitigation using biological mechanisms such as this seem entirely possible in the near future. This offers quite a positive outlook when considering projected pollution increases expected in the future!
Great idea, but how effective would this be if used as a practise on a larger scale? What effect would this have on marine ecosystems? Effectively using it on a large scale, though naturally inspired, would be quite detrimental to these ecosystems.
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