Microbial ecology of mask-derived plastisphere in lake sediments

The disposable masks in the environment can be degraded into microplastics and form a distinct ecosystem known as the 'plastisphere'. This study simulated mask exposure in lake sediments to investigate the structure, assembly, and ecological functions of microbial communities in mask-derived plastisphere. The results showed that the plastisphere exhibited significantly higher microbial diversity and richness than the surrounding sediments, and more complex co-occurrence networks. The plastisphere communities also exhibited stronger competitive interactions and a higher proportion of unique taxa. Mantel tests and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that environmental factors had a weaker influence on the plastisphere communities. The plastisphere communities were predominantly shaped by stochastic processes, as confirmed by beta-NTI and RCBray analyses. Functional profiling revealed significant enrichment in genes related to pathogenicity, plastic degradation, redox reactions, and elemental cycling within the plastisphere communities. Mask-derived microplastics as an invasive pollutant can form a novel artificial ecosystem.