College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, PR China; Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Research Center for Environmental Functional Materials, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 1;715:136968. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136968. Epub 2020 Jan 27.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is a significant environmental concern due to the persistence of MPs and their potential adverse effects on biota. Most scientific studies have examined the distribution, ingestion, fate, behavior, amount, and effect of MPs. However, few studies have described the development of methods for the removal and remediation of MPs. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the recent literature regarding the microbial-mediated degradation of MPs and discuss the associated degradation characteristics and mechanisms. Different types and combinations of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, bacterial consortia, and biofilms, that can degrade different MPs are categorized. This article summarizes approximately 50 recent papers. Twelve and 6 papers reported that bacteria and fungi, respectively, can degrade MPs. Nine articles indicated that bacterial consortia have the ability to degrade MPs, and 6 articles found that biofilms can also utilize MPs. Furthermore, to evaluate their associated degradation effects, the corresponding structural changes (i.e., macro size, surface morphology, and functional groups) in MPs after microbial degradation are examined. In addition, MP biodegradation is affected by microbial characteristics and environmental factors; therefore, the environmental factors (i.e., temperature, pH and strain activity) influencing MP degradation and the associated degradation effects (i.e., weight loss, degradation rate, and molecular weight change) are generalized. Furthermore, the mechanisms associated with the microbial-mediated degradation of MPs are briefly discussed. Finally, prospects for the degradation of MPs using microbes and future research directions are envisioned. This review provides the first systematic summary of the microbial-mediated degradation of MPs and provides a reference for future studies investigating effective means of MP pollution control.
微塑料 (MP) 污染是一个重大的环境问题，因为 MPs 的持久性及其对生物群的潜在不利影响。大多数科学研究都考察了 MPs 的分布、摄入、命运、行为、数量和影响。然而，很少有研究描述了用于去除和修复 MPs 的方法的发展。因此，在这篇综述中，我们总结了有关 MPs 微生物介导降解的最新文献，并讨论了相关的降解特征和机制。可以降解不同 MPs 的不同类型和组合的微生物，如细菌、真菌、细菌群落和生物膜，被分类。本文总结了大约 50 篇近期的论文。有 12 篇和 6 篇论文分别报道了细菌和真菌可以降解 MPs。有 9 篇文章表明细菌群落具有降解 MPs 的能力，有 6 篇文章发现生物膜也可以利用 MPs。此外，为了评估它们的相关降解效果，检查了 MPs 在微生物降解后相应的结构变化（即宏观尺寸、表面形态和功能基团）。此外，MP 生物降解受微生物特性和环境因素的影响；因此，概括了影响 MP 降解的环境因素（即温度、pH 和菌株活性）和相关降解效果（即失重、降解率和分子量变化）。此外，还简要讨论了与微生物介导的 MPs 降解相关的机制。最后，对微生物降解 MPs 的前景和未来的研究方向进行了展望。本综述首次系统总结了 MPs 的微生物介导降解，并为未来研究 MPs 污染控制的有效方法提供了参考。
