Microbial colonization of microplastics in the Caribbean Sea

Microplastics in the ocean function as an artificial microbial reef, with
unique and diverse communities of eukaryotic and bacterial microbiota
colonizing its surface. It is not well understood if the communities in
this biofilm, also termed “plastisphere”, are specific for the type of
microplastic on which they develop. Here, we carried out a controlled
6-week long in situ incubation experiment of six common plastic polymer in
Bocas del Toro, Panama. The community composition of prokaryotes based on
16S rRNA gene sequencing data, when judged under a null model analysis,
show that neither plastic polymer type nor time exposed to the environment
play a significant role in shaping biofilm communities. However, the null
model analyses of eukaryotic communities based on 18S rRNA gene sequences
reveal that they can be significantly influenced by plastic polymer type
and time incubated. This was confirmed by  scanning electron
microscopy, which allowed us to distinguish plastic-specific diatom
communities by the end of the incubation period.