Research News

Microbes Can Make Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Microplastics

Increasing abundance of plastic waste is alarming and the environmental fate of microplastics has been difficult to trace. A research group used carbon isotope labeling to follow the fate of polyethylene in the food chain. To the researchers' surprise, plastic carbon was transformed into beneficial fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, by the microbes originating from humic lakes.

In the recently published study, Dr. Sami Taipale and his co-workers studied biodegradation of polyethylene, which is one of the most used plastics. Polyethylene was labelled with 13C-isotope, which enables the most sensitive technology for studying the fate of slowly degrading materials.

"We analyzed produced gases and microbial fatty acids using stable isotope mass spectrometry," says Taipale, who just received a 4-year project from Kone Foundation to continue his studies on microplastic degradation.

"We wanted to study whether microbes that have the ability to decompose complex humic compounds would also use recalcitrant microplastic polymers, continues Taipale. -And indeed, microplastic degradation was more pronounced by microbes originating from the humic lakes than from the clear water lakes.

"Fatty acids profiles also helped to identify the bacterial groups that were responsible for the decomposition," says the co-author, professor Marja Tiirola, who leads a new Academy of Finland project for discovering decomposers of recalcitrant materials.

"The lack of labelled material limits the microplastic studies, so we welcome partners to synthesize other labelled plastic types."

Showing direct utilization of polyethylene carbon and its upgrading in the upper food chain is a methodological breakthrough. The method was sensitive enough to show that microplastic carbon was incorporated into essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, of flagellated eukaryotic species. In the further study, these essential fatty acids supported the growth and became integrated to the cell membranes of herbivorous zooplankton, next level in the aquatic food chain.

Previous studies have suggested that high concentrations of microplastics can inhibit the growth of algae and zooplankton. However, this study showed that growth-inhibition observed in high polyethylene concentrations (30 mg L-1) was fully neutralized by microbial decomposers.

"The plastic surface was covered by microbes, which utilized released chemicals or prevented physical contact to algae and zooplankton," says one of the co-authors professor Jussi Kukkonen specialized in ecotoxicology. Since microbes can cease the potential toxicity of microplastics in aquatic environments, ecorealistic testing should be performed in the presence of natural microbiomes.

Journal Reference: S. J. Taipale, E. Peltomaa, J. V. K. Kukkonen, M. J. Kainz, P. Kautonen, M. Tiirola. Tracing the fate of microplastic carbon in the aquatic food web by compound-specific isotope analysis. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55990-2

Image

ECO Magazine is a marine science trade publication committed to bringing scientists and professionals the latest ground-breaking research, industry news, and job opportunities from around the world.

Corporate

8502 SW Kansas Ave
Stuart, FL 34997

info@tscpublishing.com

Newsletter Signup

The ECO Newsletter is a weekly email featuring the Top 10 stories of the past seven days, providing readers with a convenient way to stay abreast on the latest ocean science and industry news.