Plastic in the Ocean Is Slowly Suffocating Us by: Nestor Lara

Figure. 1 Effect on growth rate and cell count of Prochlorococcus in the presence of different plastic leachates at varying doses. Graphs (a-d) show the effect of leachates on cell count. Graphs (e-f) show the effects of leachates on the growth rate (Source: nature.com). 

Plastic has caused billions in economic damage to marine environments each year. Due to its slow degradation, poor management, and increased production, we will see an increase in levels of ocean plastic pollution. Most of the news that we see regarding plastic pollution usually deals with ingestion or entanglement, but no one ever thinks about the plastic leachates, which are the chemicals that diffuse out of the plastic into the water. Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthetic bacteria in the ocean. It plays a vital role in the production of oxygen, so it can be used to determine the effect of stressors on the marine environment. A study exposed two different versions of this bacteria to leachates from plastic bags and PVC matting. The two versions were exposed to different doses of plastic leachates, and effects were recorded. Growth was impaired for both versions as well as their photosynthetic activity. This study demonstrated that different plastics have varying effects on this bacterium. PVC leachates affected the bacterium to a higher degree than plastic bag leachates. This study is the first step in understanding how plastic leachates can affect photosynthetic bacteria, which provides us with oxygen.

Article Citation: Sasha GT, Indrani S, Verena S, Russell P, Liam DHE, Lisa RM, et al. (2019). Plastic leachates impair growth and oxygen production in Prochlorococcus, the ocean's most abundant photosynthetic bacteria. Communications Biology 2.