Deciphering the evolution of the prokaryotes adhered to greenhouse macroplastics when its useful life is over

This study aims to analyze the colonization of plastics in the greenhouses of Cyprus, a typically Mediterranean country. Specifically, the selected area, located in the area between the regions of Western Area of Cyprus and Zygi, Larnaca, was characterized in 2016 for being an extensive area of greenhouse that occupied by 78.3 ha using a total of 258.51 tons of LDPE to build it (Afxentiou et al., 2021). The colonization of the plastic was evaluated in its time of use, once as a waste ending up in rivers and, later, when the plastic reaches the sea. Therefore, this study has evaluated the evolution of the microbial community attached to greenhouse plastics. To do so, plastics were identified using ATR-FTIR in each sampling station, to ensure the collection of the same plastic in each sampling station and the possible photodegrading of the plastic. Scanning electron microscopy was used to detect any biofilm constituted on the plastics, and DNA metabarcoding via 16S RNA V3-V4 region was used to identify potential changes in the microbial community of the macroplastics looking into possible changes in the bacterial community composition in comparison to their surrounding environments. We hypothesized the possible existence of similar microbial communities regardless of the sampling location, which would confirm that plastics act as possible vectors of bacteria between terrestrial and aquatic environments.