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Review
. 2018 Sep;102(18):7669-7678.
doi: 10.1007/s00253-018-9195-y. Epub 2018 Jul 11.

Degradation of plastics and plastic-degrading bacteria in cold marine habitats

Aneta K Urbanek  1 , Waldemar Rymowicz  1 , Aleksandra M Mirończuk  2
Affiliations
Review

Degradation of plastics and plastic-degrading bacteria in cold marine habitats

Aneta K Urbanek et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Synthetic plastics present in everyday materials constitute the main anthropogenic debris entering the Earth's oceans. The oceans provide important and valuable resources such as food, energy, and water. They are also the main way of international trade and the main stabilizer of the climate. Hence, changes in the marine ecosystem caused by anthropogenic influences such as plastic pollution can have a dramatic impact on a global scale. Although the problem of plastics still remains unsolved, different ways are being considered to reduce their impact on the environment. One of them is to use microorganisms capable of degradation of plastic. A particularly interesting area is the application of microorganisms isolated from cold regions in view of their unique characteristics. Nevertheless, the interactions between plastic and microorganisms are still poorly known. Here, we present a review of current knowledge on plastic degradation and plastic-microorganism interactions in cold marine habitats. Moreover, we highlight the advantages of microorganisms isolated from this environment for eliminating plastic waste from ecosystems.

Keywords: Biodegradation; Biofilm; Cold marine environment; Microorganisms; Plastic wastes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structures of the common plastics
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Potential interactions between marine microorganisms and microplastics in marine environment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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