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Agarose-Based Model Ecosystem for Cultivating Methanotrophs in a Methane-Oxygen Counter Gradient
Published on: September 6, 2024
In-sewer microplastics drive microbial metabolic shifts toward enhanced methanogenesis.
Yaxin Wang1,2, Xiuhong Liu1, Zhipeng Zhang2
1Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
Environmental Science and Ecotechnology
|July 2, 2026
Summary
Sewer microplastics (MPs) age and alter microbial communities. This study reveals how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) MPs disrupt sewer microbes, affecting biogeochemical cycles and reducing sulfide production.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Sewer systems host diverse microbial communities crucial for biogeochemical cycles.
- Microplastics (MPs) are present in sewers, undergoing aging processes.
- The mechanisms of MP aging and their impact on sewer microbiomes are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the aging mechanisms of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) microplastics in sewer environments.
- To determine the effects of these aged MPs on the structure and function of sewer microbial communities.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying MP-induced microbial perturbations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of MP surface changes (roughness, oxidation, chain scission) induced by sewer conditions.
- Exposure experiments with PET and PBAT MPs at varying concentrations (30-500 particles L⁻¹) to sewer microbial communities.
- Microbial community profiling (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and functional gene analysis (qPCR).
- Assessment of microbial activity, membrane integrity, and biogeochemical processes (e.g., sulfide production).
Main Results:
- Hydroxyl radicals preferentially attacked ester bonds in PET and PBAT MPs, leading to surface degradation and polymer chain scission.
- MP exposure intensified microbial oxidative stress, disrupted membrane integrity, and impaired microbial activity in a dose-dependent manner.
- Significant shifts in microbial community structure were observed, with reduced hydrolytic/fermentative and sulfate-reducing bacteria, and enrichment of acetogenic bacteria and methanogenic archaea.
- Changes in genes related to antioxidant defense, DNA repair, quorum sensing, and redox signaling indicated complex microbial metabolic disruptions.
Conclusions:
- Sewer systems act as active reactors promoting microplastic aging.
- Microplastics significantly perturb sewer microbial ecology and function, altering key biogeochemical processes like sulfur cycling and methanogenesis.
- Microplastic pollution control is essential for mitigating downstream environmental impacts and maintaining urban sewage biogeochemistry.
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