title: Fate of Eight Different Polymers under Uncontrolled Composting Conditions: Relationships Between Deterioration, Biofilm Formation, and the Material Surface Properties.
abstract: With the ever-increasing volume of polymer wastes and their associated detrimental impacts on the environment, the plastic life cycle has drawn increasing attention. Here, eight commercial polymers selected from biodegradable to environmentally persistent materials, all formulated under a credit card format, were incubated in an outdoor compost to evaluate their fate over time and to profile the microbial communities colonizing their surfaces. After 450 days in compost, the samples were all colonized by multispecies biofilms, these latest displaying different amounts of adhered microbial biomass and significantly distinct bacterial and fungal community compositions depending on the substrate. Interestingly, colonization experiments on the eight polymers revealed a large core of shared microbial taxa, predominantly composed of microorganisms previously reported from environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons or plastics debris. These observations suggest that biofilms may contribute to the alteration process of all the polymers studied. Actually, four substrates, independently of their assignment to a polymer group, displayed a significant deterioration, which might be attributed to biologically mediated mechanisms. Relevantly, the deterioration appears strongly associated with the formation of a high-cell density biofilm onto the polymer surfaces. The analysis of various surface properties revealed that roughness and hydrophilicity are likely prominent parameters for driving the biological interactions with the polymers.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6970-452X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gravouil
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Aucher
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brosset-Vincent
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Linette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kadri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouchon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire coopératif ThanaplastSP-Carbios, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, and ‡Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7267, Université de Poitiers , 86073 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers; D012987:Soil