Characterization of the Plastisphere

With the term Plastisphere we indicate the microbial community that lives attached to plastic pieces, which is mainly composed by diatoms, bacteria and bryozoans .

To assess the microbial community attached to plastic, the samples collected with the Manta net are cut in two parts: one designed to be analyzed with SEM and the other for DNA extraction. The first analysis aims to study the morphology of diatoms and bacteria while the second conducts to a taxonomical classification based on the genetic information. In a second time the samples are subject to chemical analysis performed using Fourier Transformed InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometry.