It's not just fish, plastic pollution harms the bacteria that help us breathe

Ten per cent of the oxygen we breathe comes from just one kind of bacteria in the ocean. Now laboratory tests have shown that these bacteria are susceptible to plastic pollution, according to a study published in Biology Communications.

"We found that exposure to chemicals leaching from plastic pollution interfered with the growth, photosynthesis and oxygen production of Prochlorococcus, the ocean's most abundant photosynthetic bacteria, "says lead author and Macquarie University researcher Dr. Sasha Tetu.

"Now we'd like to explore if plastic pollution is having the same impact on these microbes in the ocean."

Plastic pollution has been estimated to be more than US $ 13 billion in marine damage each year, and the problem is only getting worse with marine plastic pollution.

"This pollution can be used in a variety of chemical additives in marine environments, but unlike the dangers posed by animals in such a way as to get rid of them," says Dr. Lisa Moore, co -author on the paper.

In the first study of its kind, the researchers looked at the effects of these chemicals on the smallest life in our oceans, photosynthetic marine bacteria.

"We looked at a group of tiny, green called bacteria Prochlorococcus which is the most abundant photosynthetic organism on earth, with a total population of around three octillion (~ 1027) individuals, "says Sasha.

These microbes are heavy lifers when it comes to carbohydrate and oxygen production in the ocean via photosynthesis.

"These tiny microorganisms are critical to the marine food web," says Lisa, explaining the fundamental importance of these microbes to ocean health.

"So one in every ten breaths of oxygen you breathe in, these little guys Prochlorococcus respond to human pollutants. "

In the lab, the team exposed two strains of Prochlorococcus found at different depths in the ocean to chemicals – made of high-density polyethylene and PVC matting.

They found that exposure to these chemicals impaired the growth and function of these microbes – including the amount of oxygen they produce – as well as the expression of a large number of their genes.

"Our data shows that this pollution has impacts on macro-organisms, such as seabirds and turtles," says Sasha.

"If we really want to understand the impact of microbial groups, including photosynthetic microbes."

###