Overview of microplastics in the environment: type, source, potential effects and removal strategies.

The introduction of plastic sectors has resulted in the presence of microplastics (MPs) in water systems, which has become a global issue that has attracted scientific and community awareness. MPs can be detected in a variety of sources such as beauty products, manufacturing effluent, or fishing activities. This study examined the repercussions posed by MPs' prevalence on land and marine environments and human health issues. Henceforth, remediation technologies must be introduced to shift out MPs from the water supplies in order to sustain the environmental quality for future generations, the benefits and drawbacks of the technology applied. This study also portrays difficulties encountered in MP research as the hurdles must be mastered in order to properly comprehend the MPs. The cooperation between nations is the most critical aspect in fully tackling MP issues as it can be easily carried by wind or water and its damage can be larger than predicted.

Oleibacter marinus gen. nov., sp. nov., a bacterium that degrades petroleum aliphatic hydrocarbons in a tropical marine environment.

Three Gram-negative, motile, mesophilic, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated 2O1(T), 1O14 and 1O18, were isolated from Indonesian seawater after enrichment with crude oil and a continuous supply of supplemented seawater. The strains exhibited high n-alkane-degrading activity, which indicated that the strains were important degraders of petroleum aliphatic hydrocarbons in tropical marine environments. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences of members of the Gammaproteobacteria showed that the isolates formed a coherent and distinct cluster in a stable lineage containing Oceanobacter kriegii IFO 15467(T) (96.4-96.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Thalassolituus oleivorans MIL-1(T). DNA G +C content was 53.0-53.1 mol%. The major fatty acids were C(16 : 0), C(16 : 1)ω7 and C(18 : 1)ω9 and the hydroxy fatty acids were C(12 : 0) 3-OH and C(10 : 0) 3-OH. The polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, a ninhydrin-positive phospholipid(s) and glycolipids. The major quinone was Q-9 (97-99 %), which distinguished the isolates from Oceanobacter kriegii NBRC 15467(T) (Q-8; 91 %). On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic data, including DNA-DNA hybridization, the isolates represent a novel genus and species, for which the name Oleibacter marinus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Oleibacter marinus is 2O1(T) (=NBRC 105760(T) =BTCC B-675(T)).

The potential of Cycloclasticus and Altererythrobacter strains for use in bioremediation of petroleum-aromatic-contaminated tropical marine environments.

Cycloclasticus sp. A5, which has been suggested to be a major degrader of petroleum aromatics spilled in temperate seas, showed higher degrading activities for petroleum aromatics, at both 25 degrees C and tropical sea temperature 30 degrees C, than the novel aromatic-degrading isolates, related to Altererythrobacter epoxidivorans (97.5% similarity in the almost full-length 16S rRNA gene sequence) and Rhodovulum iodosum (96.3% similarity), obtained after enrichment on crude oil in a continuous supply of Indonesian seawater. Cycloclasticus A5 degraded petroleum aromatics at a similar rate or faster at 30 degrees C as compared to 25 degrees C, but its growth on acetate was severely inhibited at 30 degrees C. These results suggest that, although their abundance would be low in tropical seas not contaminated with aromatics, the Cycloclasticus strains could be major degraders of petroleum aromatics spilled in tropical seas. The 16S rRNA gene of the Cycloclasticus strains has been identified from Indonesian seawater, and the gene fragments showed 96.7-96.8% similarities to that of Cycloclasticus A5. Introducing Cycloclasticus A5 may be an ecologically advantageous bioremediation strategy for petroleum-aromatic-contaminated tropical seas because strain A5 would disappear at 30 degrees C after complete consumption of the aromatics. Altererythrobacter and Rhodovulum-related isolates grew well on pyruvate in 10% strength marine broth at 30 degrees C whereas Cycloclasticus A5 did not grow well on acetate in the broth at 30 degrees C. These growth results, along with its petroleum-aromatic-degrading activity, suggest that the Altererythrobacter isolate could be an important petroleum-aromatic degrader in and around nutrient-rich tropical marine environments.

Oceanobacter-related bacteria are important for the degradation of petroleum aliphatic hydrocarbons in the tropical marine environment.

Petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were obtained after enrichment on crude oil (as a 'chocolate mousse') in a continuous supply of Indonesian seawater amended with nitrogen, phosphorus and iron nutrients. They were related to Alcanivorax and Marinobacter strains, which are ubiquitous petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in marine environments, and to Oceanobacter kriegii (96.4-96.5 % similarities in almost full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences). The Oceanobacter-related bacteria showed high n-alkane-degrading activity, comparable to that of Alcanivorax borkumensis strain SK2. On the other hand, Alcanivorax strains exhibited high activity for branched-alkane degradation and thus could be key bacteria for branched-alkane biodegradation in tropical seas. Oceanobacter-related bacteria became most dominant in microcosms that simulated a crude oil spill event with Indonesian seawater. The dominance was observed in microcosms that were unamended or amended with fertilizer, suggesting that the Oceanobacter-related strains could become dominant in the natural tropical marine environment after an accidental oil spill, and would continue to dominate in the environment after biostimulation. These results suggest that Oceanobacter-related bacteria could be major degraders of petroleum n-alkanes spilt in the tropical sea.