Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38111463›Full record

ArticleInnovation (Cambridge (Mass.))2024

Ecology and risks of the global plastisphere as a newly expanding microbial habitat.

Changchao Li, Michael R Gillings, Chao Zhang, Qinglin Chen, Dong Zhu, Jie Wang, Kankan Zhao, Qicheng Xu, Polly Hangmei Leung, Xiangdong Li and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.National science review · 2026
    Review
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  8. Review
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  11. Plastisphere-isolatedFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Changchao LiDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Michael R GillingsARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Chao ZhangEnvironment Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
Qinglin ChenKey Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Dong ZhuKey Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Jie WangBeijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Kankan ZhaoInstitute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Qicheng XuJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Polly Hangmei LeungDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics and Research Institute for Future Food, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Xiangdong LiDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Jian LiuEnvironment Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
Ling JinDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plastic offers a new niche for microorganisms, the plastisphere. The ever-increasing emission of plastic waste makes it critical to understand the microbial ecology of the plastisphere and associated effects. Here, we present a global fingerprint of the plastisphere, analyzing samples collected from freshwater, seawater, and terrestrial ecosystems. The plastisphere assembles a distinct microbial community that has a clearly higher heterogeneity and a more deterministically dominated assembly compared to natural habitats. New coexistence patterns-loose and fragile networks with mostly specialist linkages among microorganisms that are rarely found in natural habitats-are seen in the plastisphere. Plastisphere microbiomes generally have a great potential to metabolize organic compounds, which could accelerate carbon turnover. Microorganisms involved in the nitrogen cycle are also altered in the plastisphere, especially in freshwater plastispheres, where a high abundance of denitrifiers may increase the release of nitrite (aquatic toxicant) and nitrous oxide (greenhouse gas). Enrichment of animal, plant, and human pathogens means that the plastisphere could become an increasingly mobile reservoir of harmful microorganisms. Our findings highlight that if the trajectory of plastic emissions is not reversed, the expanding plastisphere could pose critical planetary health challenges.

Identifiers

PMID38111463
PMCPMC10726253

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.