Marine Pollution Bulletin 146 (2019) 921–924

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Marine Pollution Bulletin

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul

Microplastics as vectors of contaminants T

Gabriella Caruso
National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP), Spianata San Raineri 86, 98122 Messina, Italy

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Pollution by microplastics and antibiotics is an emerging environmental, human and animal health threat. In
Microplastics spite of several studies documenting the widespread occurrence of plastic debris in aquatic ecosystems, research
Contaminants focusing on occurrence and concentration of biological and chemical contaminants attached on microplastic
Vectors surface as well as on possible interactions of these contaminants with microplastics is still at its beginning. The
Aquatic ecosystems
present note addresses the role of microplastics as vectors of contaminants in water bodies, stressing the need for
future investigations on this hot topic.

1. Introduction
Plastic pollution represents one of the most urgent threats of the
recent era (CIESM, 2014; Bergmann et al., 2015 and references therein;
Suaria et al., 2016; Andrady, 2017; Chae and An, 2017, 2018). Evi-
dences of the negative impacts of macroplastics, and their derived mi-
croplastics and nanoplastics debris on both aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystems, are provided daily by the scientific community. Most of the
total litter released in the natural environments belongs to the small
size plastic debris (microplastics) which originate from a wide variety
of sources, including clothing, fishing, cosmetics, and industrial pro-
cesses; their abundance is expected to continue to increase, re-
presenting a serious concern for humans and marine wildlife. In this
context, it is extremely urgent to activate actions aimed at monitoring
the sources, distribution pathways, and effects of marine litter on biota
as well as at mitigating or reducing such impacts. Although many
Countries have started to undertake measures to counteract plastic
pollution, through the activation of research projects regarding this
issue, educational programs to increase public awareness of the pro-
blem and the set up and development of standardized protocols to re-
cover microplastics from the environment (Miller et al., 2017), research
on marine litter is relatively recent and the actual implications of plastic
contaminants on human health are still unpredictable (Vethaak and
Leslie, 2016).
2. Microplastics as vectors, interactions with the environment and
emerging risks
Limiting attention to the marine ecosystems, more research is
needed to focus on the role of plastics as vectors of both biological and
chemical contaminants not only within the pelagic compartment, but
also within the benthic one; indeed, sediments act as a sink for those
contaminants once they have reached the aquatic environment.
With respect to biological contaminants, hydrological forcings such
as winds and currents, can transport plastic-attached organisms over
long distances; bryozoans, crustaceans, molluscs, have been found
rafting on floating litter across the open sea (Kiessling et al., 2015).
Taking in consideration the huge amount of litter and the great per-
sistence of plastic materials in the world's oceans, rafting dispersal can
favour the spread of invasive species. At lower size range, interactions
of plastic particles with aquatic microbiota are a new research chal-
lenge that needs to be elucidated yet, particularly regarding potentially
negative effects played by microplastics on microbial structure and
metabolism (Caruso et al., 2018a). Indeed, plastic debris may support
adhesion and colonization by microbes, that work as pioneering surface
colonizers through biofilm production (Lobelle and Cunliffe, 2011)
leading to the formation of an attached plastisphere (Zettler et al.,
2013) or an ecocorona of macromolecules (Galloway et al., 2017). The
process of biofilm formation on the surface of microplastics can result in
density changes of the same particles, that in turn could influence their
distribution and bioavailability; Kaiser et al. (2017) have focused on
this topic, demonstrating that biofouling causes changes in the buoy-
ancy of microplastics, and favouring their sinking to sediments, parti-
cularly in marine environments. The acquisition of empirical data on
size-specific fouling rates and resultant changes in litter density has
been suggested by Ryan (2015) as a key step to assess the relevance of
the sedimentation process of floating plastic debris. On the other hand,
following biofouling positively buoyant plastics can become negatively
buoyant and sink out the water column to the seafloor, accumulating
into sediments (Woodall et al., 2014).
Ecological interactions between marine microorganisms and mi-
croplastics are now receiving increasing attention (Harrison et al.,

E-mail address: gabriella.caruso@cnr.it.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.052
Received 24 April 2019; Received in revised form 21 July 2019; Accepted 22 July 2019
Available online 26 July 2019
0025-326X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
G. Caruso
2011, 2014; Carson et al., 2013; Oberbeckmann et al., 2014, 2015;
Reisser et al., 2014; Amaral-Zettler et al., 2015; Caruso, 2015a, 2015b;
De Tender et al., 2015, 2017; Bryant et al., 2016; Keswani et al., 2016;
Kirstein et al., 2016; Caruso et al., 2018a). Recent studies have con-
firmed that microplastics may have a role as vectors for toxic micro-
algae with severe implications for human and animal health (Masó
et al., 2007; Casabianca et al., 2019).
The impacts of microplastics and plastic co-pollutants on the
structure, composition and activities of natural microbiota (bacteria,
microalgae) are complex, nevertheless, their study is important to un-
derstand the fate of plastic debris in aquatic environments.
The interactions of microplastics and pollutants, as well as the
physical, chemical and biological consequences of microplastics in
aquatic environments have also been reviewed by recent papers
(Carbery et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018; Guo and Wang, 2019). Some
studies (Kiessling et al., 2015) have shown that microbial aggregates on
microplastics depend on specific characteristics of substrata, such as the
type of plastic polymer. Furthermore, the process of plastic colonization
can be affected by the surface rugosity and hydrophobicity of litter
fragments.
In addition to that posed by plastic pollution, the spread of anti-
biotic resistance (AR) phenomena represents a further major societal
and economic threat. Antibiotics and heavy metals, which are known to
play a role as drivers of AR (Huijbers et al., 2015; Singer et al., 2016),
can absorb to plastic debris, supporting the transmission of antibiotic
resistant bacteria (ARB) and/or antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) and
making water bodies natural reservoirs of AR. For hydrophilic com-
pounds, such as some antibiotics, higher affinity was observed to
polyamide than to other types of microplastics (Li et al., 2018; Guo
et al., 2019). Higher adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics has been
recorded in freshwater compared to marine systems (Li et al., 2018).
AR-phenomena mediated by plastic contaminants can affect also un-
expected regions, such as polar regions, previously considered as pris-
tine environments (Tam et al., 2015). A recent study (Laganà et al.,
2019), performed on a macro-plastic fragment of polystyrene retrieved
from the King George Islands (South Shetlands, Antarctica), has high-
lighted the occurrence of multiple resistances in the associated bacterial
flora. Of a total of 27 bacterial isolates, identified by molecular 16s
rRNA gene sequencing, strains were selected and screened for their
ability to produce biofilm and antibiotic susceptibility profiles, showing
multiple AR resistances against the molecules cefuroxime and cefazolin
(belonging to cephalosporins), cinoxacin (belonging to quinolones) and
ampicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, carbenicillin and mezlocillin
(belonging to beta-lactams). The results of this study, funded by the
Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) in the framework
of the projects PLANET (“Plastic in Antartic Environment, PNRA
14_00090”) and ANT-BIOFILM (“Microbial colonization of benthic
ANTarctic environments: response of microbial abundances, diversity,
activities and larval settlement to natural or anthropogenic dis-
turbances and search for secondary metabolites”, PNRA 16_00105,
Caruso et al., 2018b) have confirmed the potential role of plastics as
vectors for the spread of multiple AR across Antarctic marine en-
vironments. In this context, recent evidences have documented the links
between plastic debris and the transmission of antibiotic resistance also
in ecosystems other than Antarctica. Arias-Andres et al. (2018) have
reported an increased frequency of plasmid transfer in bacteria asso-
ciated with microplastics compared to those free-living or present in
natural aggregates. Imran et al. (2019) have suggested that micro-
plastics act as a hotspot for co-selection of metal-driven multi-antibiotic
resistant human pathogens; similarly, Yang et al. (2019) have referred
to the plastisphere as a reservoir for both antibiotic and metal resistance
genes, suggesting that the selection for antibiotic or metal resistance are
important factors that affect the resistome of the microbiota colonizing
the plastic particles.
Chemical pollutants such as hydrophobic organic compounds, in-
cluding persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated
922
Marine Pollution Bulletin 146 (2019) 921–924
biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and persistent bioaccumulative
and toxic substances (PBTs), can adsorb on plastics (Mato et al., 2001; Rios
et al., 2007; Teuten et al., 2007; Thompson et al., 2009; Rochman, 2015).
Partitioning of hydrophobic organic compounds into different plastics has
been reported to follow the order of low-density polyethylene ≈ high-
density polyethylene ≥ polypropylene > polyvinyl chloride ≈ poly-
styrene (O'Connor et al., 2016). Plastics additives such as phthalates, UV-
stabilizers, colorants, brominated flame retardants, and bisphenol A are
pollutants of particular concern (Thompson et al., 2009). Mato et al.
(2001) reported that microplastics are able to accumulate PAHs, PCBs,
phthalates, and pesticides with a concentration factor of up to 10^6 times
compared to surrounding seawater; a similar finding has been pointed out
by Rodrigues et al. (2018), who have highlighted the possible transfer of
pollutants to the biota. PCBs and PBDEs found in fish fed with the marine
plastic than those fed with the virgin plastic (Rochman et al., 2013) in-
dicated that plastic debris serves as a vector for the sorbed pollutants to
wildlife. Greater concentrations of PBDEs measured in birds than those in
their prey (pelagic fish) suggested the transfer of plastic-derived chemicals
from ingested plastics to the tissues of organisms feeding at high trophic
levels (Tanaka et al., 2013).
Other recent evidences have documented the relevant role of mi-
croplastics as vectors of contaminants, as reported in the studies by
Syberg et al. (2015), Ziccardi et al. (2016), Zhang et al. (2018a, 2018b)
and Chen et al. (2019).
3. Conclusions
The impacts of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems - in particular
the possible interaction of microplastics with small sized organisms
such as bacteria and microalgae that can colonize plastic debris and
their role as vectors/carriers of both biological and chemical con-
taminants - constitute a new frontier of knowledge; in this context,
many prospects for future research regarding the impact of marine litter
on all trophic levels of marine biota are offered, as previously suggested
by Galgani (2015). All the above-reported observations suggest that
microplastics can represent potential carriers for the spread of organic
contaminants and marine microbes, including ARB; consequently the
spread of microplastics poses a neglected hazard for human health,
underlying the relevance of further studies addressing this emerging
research topic.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Italian National Antarctic Research
Program (PNRA), Project “Microbial colonization of benthic ANTarctic
environments: response of microbial abundances, diversity, activities
and larval settlement to natural or anthropogenic disturbances and
search for secondary metabolites” (ANT-BIOFILM, PNRA 16_00105).
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