Plastic waste's 'plastisphere' could harbor and spread eukaryotic pathogens Biofilm Environmental pollution Eukaryotes Humanhealth Microplastic Plastisphere STOTEN_journal StirUni
By Tarun Sai LomteApr 3 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. A recent study published in the Science of Total Environment journal reviews the potential for helminth, fungal, and protozoan pathogens to associate with plastisphere.
Studies on eukaryotic pathogens in the plastisphere have been limited to in vitro analyses or large-scale metagenomics. High-throughput sequencing studies have revealed that eukaryotic reads are more abundant than prokaryotes in the plastisphere community. These studies also suggest the presence of algae, apicomplexans, parasitic ciliates, dinoflagellates, and diatoms.
Scanning electron microscopy imaging has revealed that potential fungal pathogens can readily colonize microplastics. Fungi are well suited to the plastisphere due to their adsorptive mode of nutrition, melanization, apical/invasive growth forms, thigmotropism, and the ability to form/associate with biofilms. The mechanisms of how fungi bind to plastics/plastisphere biofilms have yet to be fully understood.
To this end, Cryptococcus neoformans undergo melanization under nutrient starvation, which protects against environmental stressors. Many fungi associated with plastics are melanized, which might facilitate survival and virulence in the plastisphere. Protozoan pathogens can survive in adverse environments due to thick-walled organelles that ensure their viability. Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts have been shown to adhere to abiotic surfaces and survive here under laboratory conditions. Adding organic matter increases survival, likely due to enhanced aggregation of cysts/oocysts or changes in the bi-layered cyst walls.
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