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Gkoutselis G, Rohrbach S, Harjes J, et al. Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):13214doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7.
Gkoutselis, G., Rohrbach, S., Harjes, J., Obst, M., Brachmann, A., Horn, M. A., & Rambold, G. (2021). Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems. Scientific reports, 11(1), 13214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7
Gkoutselis, Gerasimos, et al. "Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems." Scientific reports vol. 11,1 (2021): 13214. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7
Gkoutselis G, Rohrbach S, Harjes J, Obst M, Brachmann A, Horn MA, Rambold G. Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 15;11(1):13214. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7. PMID: 34267241; PMCID: PMC8282651.
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Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 15;11(1):13214. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7.

Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems.

Scientific reports

Gerasimos Gkoutselis, Stephan Rohrbach, Janno Harjes, Martin Obst, Andreas Brachmann, Marcus A Horn, Gerhard Rambold

Affiliations

  1. Department of Mycology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany.
  2. Institute of Microbiology, Leibniz University Hannover, 30419, Hannover, Germany.
  3. Experimental Biogeochemistry, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, 95448, Bayreuth, Germany.
  4. Genetics, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, 82152, Martinsried, Germany.
  5. Institute of Microbiology, Leibniz University Hannover, 30419, Hannover, Germany. [email protected].
  6. Department of Mycology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany. [email protected].

PMID: 34267241 PMCID: PMC8282651 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92405-7

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) is a pervasive pollutant in nature that is colonised by diverse groups of microbes, including potentially pathogenic species. Fungi have been largely neglected in this context, despite their affinity for plastics and their impact as pathogens. To unravel the role of MP as a carrier of fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems and the immediate human environment, epiplastic mycobiomes from municipal plastic waste from Kenya were deciphered using ITS metabarcoding as well as a comprehensive meta-analysis, and visualised via scanning electron as well as confocal laser scanning microscopy. Metagenomic and microscopic findings provided complementary evidence that the terrestrial plastisphere is a suitable ecological niche for a variety of fungal organisms, including important animal and plant pathogens, which formed the plastisphere core mycobiome. We show that MPs serve as selective artificial microhabitats that not only attract distinct fungal communities, but also accumulate certain opportunistic human pathogens, such as cryptococcal and Phoma-like species. Therefore, MP must be regarded a persistent reservoir and potential vector for fungal pathogens in soil environments. Given the increasing amount of plastic waste in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, this interrelation may have severe consequences for the trans-kingdom and multi-organismal epidemiology of fungal infections on a global scale.

© 2021. The Author(s).

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