Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Sep 15;118(10):152.
doi: 10.1007/s10482-025-02163-z.

A review on microbial-biofilm mediated mechanisms in marine microplastics degradation

Soumyajit Chandra  1 , Dibyajit Lahiri  2 , Moupriya Nag  3 , Debasmita Bhattacharya  4 , Chetan Pandit  1 , Soumya Pandit  5   6 , Kuldeep Sharma  7 , Mithul Rajeev  8 , Harjot Singh Gill  9 , Sarvesh Rustagi  10
Affiliations
Review

A review on microbial-biofilm mediated mechanisms in marine microplastics degradation

Soumyajit Chandra et al. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. .

Abstract

Although the buildup of plastic in the marine environment is a long-standing problem, it has only lately been realized how relevant this pollution may be to the ocean. Microplastic fragments are an emerging concern in this field. Due to their small size, they are easily consumed by marine animals and, combined with the poisons and bacteria that colonize the plastic, can accumulate in the food chain. Unlike non-plastic biofilms, plastic biofilms are diverse and driven by a complex web of elements, including seasonal and spatial parameters and substratum characteristics like size, texture, and polymer type. The major topic of the paper is the discussion of preliminary findings and knowledge gaps about microbial biofilm communities connected to microplastics. Additionally, the review addresses microplastic sources, associated toxicity, and the role of both bacterial and fungal communities in their degradation.

Keywords: Biofilm communities; Marine plastic pollution; Microorganisms; Microplastics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: Not Applicable.

References

    1. Acharya A, Poudel S, Angove MJ, Treichel H, Paudel SR. Chapter 10 - Bacterial and fungal mechanism of plastic degradation. In: Kapoor RT, Treichel H, Zdarta J, editors. Environmental Hazards of Plastic Wastes, Elsevier; 2025, p. 131–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-23599-3.00015-0 .
    1. Ainali NM, Bikiaris DN, Lambropoulou DA (2021) Aging effects on low-and high-density polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene under UV irradiation: an insight into decomposition mechanism by Py-GC/MS for microplastic analysis. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 158:105207 - DOI
    1. Alayande AB, Aung MM, Kim IS (2018) Correlation between quorum sensing signal molecules and Pseudomonas aeruginosa’s biofilm development and virulency. Curr Microbiol 75:787–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-018-1449-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alimi OS, Farner Budarz J, Hernandez LM, Tufenkji N (2018) Microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments: aggregation, deposition, and enhanced contaminant transport. Environ Sci Technol 52:1704–1724. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05559 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amaral-Zettler LA, Zettler ER, Mincer TJ (2020) Ecology of the plastisphere. Nat Rev Microbiol 18:139–151. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0308-0 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources