How plastic kills the bacteria that produces 10% of worlds’ oxygen

Everyone knows that plastic kills not only marine creatures, reefs, and fish, but also bacterias. Especially the good ones.

In the most recent research of the marine scientists appears that microplastic kills the bacteria, which is responsible for the production of more than 10% of the oxygen. Marine Prochlorococcus is considered to be the most abundant photosynthetic organism on or planet and vital contributors to global primary production and carbon cycling.

Plastic leachates negatively affect the communities of Prochlorococcus which is the most photosynthetic cell in the ocean. As a result of plastic pollution of the oceans especially by HDPE shopping bags and PVC matting.

The experimental part was the leaching plastic from the most popular PVC and its effect on two representative strains of the bacteria. After 48 hours of leaching, the strain MIT9312 showed a double reduction of the population, when the other Prochlorococcus strain NATL2A showed less reduction comparing to the first one.

Anyways, in 72 hours of leaching both strains showed the critical reduction of the population. It did not depend on the concentration, so we can conclude, that after 72 hours the concentration of plastic is less important that its time in the water.