%0 Journal Article
%T Revealing the response of microbial communities to polyethylene micro(nano)plastics exposure in cold seep sediment.
%A Chen C
%A Deng Y
%A Zhou H
%A Jiang L
%A Deng Z
%A Chen J
%A Han X
%A Zhang D
%A Zhang C
%J Sci Total Environ
%V 881
%N 0
%D Jul 2023 10
%M 37044349
%F 10.753
%R 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163366
%X To date, multiple studies have shown that the accumulation of microplastics (MPs)/nanoplastics (NPs) in the environment may lead to various problems. However, the effects of MPs/NPs on microbial communities and biogeochemical processes, particularly methane metabolism in cold seep sediments, have not been well elucidated. In this study, an indoor microcosm experiment for a period of 120 days exposure of MPs/NPs was conducted. The results showed that MPs/NPs addition did not significantly influence bacterial and archaeal richness in comparison with the control (p > 0.05), whereas higher levels of NPs (1 %, w/w) had a significant adverse effect on bacterial diversity (p < 0.05). Moreover, the bacterial community was more sensitive to the addition of MPs/NPs than the archaea, and Epsilonbacteraeota replaced Proteobacteria as the dominant phylum in the MPs/NPs treatments (except 0.2 % NPs). With respect to the co-occurrence relationships, network analysis showed that the presence of NPs, in comparison with MPs, reduced microbial network complexity. Finally, the presence of MPs/NPs decreased the abundance of mcrA, while promoting the abundance of pmoA. This study will help elucidate the responses of microbial communities to MPs/NPs and evaluate their effects on methane metabolism in cold seep ecosystems.