Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 9, 2025
07:26
Visualizing Methane-Cycling Microbial Dynamics in Coastal Wetlands
Published on: January 31, 2025
440
Unique plastisphere viromes with habitat-dependent potential for modulating global methane cycle
Xue-Peng Chen1,2, Dong Zhu3,4,5, Shu-Yue Liu6
1Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
Nature Communications
|August 29, 2025
Summary
Viruses in plastic environments (plastispheres) significantly alter methane metabolism. These viral communities, largely novel, enhance microbial methane production, especially in water, impacting global cycles.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Virology
- Biogeochemical cycles
Background:
- Plastispheres are emerging microbial habitats on plastic debris.
- Viruses are crucial regulators of microbial communities and metabolism.
- The role of viruses within plastispheres remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the composition and function of viral communities in plastispheres.
- To understand the impact of these viral communities on host metabolism, particularly methane cycling.
- To assess the contribution of viruses to the biogeochemical impact of plastispheres.
Main Methods:
- Microcosm experiments to study plastisphere viral communities.
- Analysis of global plastisphere metagenomic data.
- Phage transplantation experiments to determine viral functional roles.
Main Results:
- Plastispheres host distinct viral communities with a high proportion (86.9%) of novel viral operational taxonomic units.
- Plastisphere viruses possess auxiliary metabolic genes that modulate host methane metabolism.
- Water plastispheres, acting as copiotrophic environments, show enhanced methanogenesis due to lysogenic viruses, suggesting potential methane emission hotspots.
Conclusions:
- Viruses play a significant role in shaping the functional capacity of plastisphere microbial communities.
- Auxiliary metabolic genes in viruses are key drivers of methane cycling within plastispheres.
- Understanding viral contributions is essential for assessing the impact of plastispheres on global biogeochemical cycles, particularly methane emissions.
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