Marine Microplastic Associated Bacterial Communities in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are Determined by Exposure to the Environment but not Plastic Type

For the first time we report on microbial communities that form on secondary microplastics of six different different household plastic polymers incubated in coastal Pacific waters. Statistical analyses show that incubation time, and not plastic type determine the community composition on these plastic types. A comparison with prokaryotic communities developing on the same type of microplastics incubated in the coastal Caribbean Sea at Bocas del Toro, Panama showed the importance of both the incubation time, but foremost geographic location on the microbial community composition. We could further identify for the first time a "core plastisphere" composed of 57 potentially synergistic taxa common to all plastic types. It is important to know what determines the composition of the microbial communities on these plastic pollutants to evaluate their modification, degradation, importance as vectors and as food sources for consumers in the aquatic environment.