Fresh Data on Science and Technology Reveals Insights on Plastisphere and Microbial Biofilms

Strategic Insights -

Research on plastics as a hydrophobic surface for microorganisms to attach and form microbial biofilms, referred to as "plastisphere," has yielded new findings. Scientists from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway, conducted field trials in Bergen harbour to study the microbiota of biofilms on plastic using metagenomics. The study involved submerging polystyrene and nylon ropes in the sea for four weeks, collecting biofilm communities, and sequencing their DNA.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research found that Gammaproteobacteria and Alpha proteobacteria were the most prominent microorganisms on the plastic polymers, with b-lactamases as the most abundant resistance gene class.
  • The study collected a total of 460 Gigabases of sequence data from the samples, which will be useful for the scientific community working on plastic-associated biofilms.
  • The average salinity and temperature during the experiment were 9.02 °C and 28.85, respectively.
  • The experiment lasted for four weeks, and the extracted DNA was subjected to metagenomic sequencing.
  • The researchers concluded that the datasets obtained will be valuable for understanding the microbiota of biofilms on plastic.

Statistics:

  • 460 Gigabases of sequence data were collected from the samples.
  • The average salinity during the experiment was 9.02 °C.
  • The average temperature during the experiment was 28.85 °C.
  • The experiment lasted for 4 weeks.
  • The extracted DNA was subjected to metagenomic sequencing (n=12).

Sources:

  • High-throughput sequencing data of the microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes from biofilms on polystyrene and nylon rope incubated in Bergen harbor (NCBI SRA)
  • Data in Brief, 2025,61(): 111718
  • doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2025.111718
  • Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
  • https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.dib.2025.111718