Earthworms Exposed to Polyethylene and Biodegradable Microplastics in Soil: Microplastic Characterization and Microbial Community Analysis

Adhikari, Kaushik; Astner, Anton F.; DeBruyn, Jennifer M.; Yu, Yingxue; Hayes, Douglas G.; O’Callahan, Brian T.; Flury, Markus

doi:10.1021/acsagscitech.2c00333

Title: Earthworms Exposed to Polyethylene and Biodegradable Microplastics in Soil: Microplastic Characterization and Microbial Community Analysis

Journal Article · Wed Apr 05 00:00:00 UTC 2023 · ACS Agricultural Science & Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsagscitech.2c00333 · OSTI ID:1984062

Adhikari, Kaushik ^[1]; Astner, Anton F. ^[2];

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Washington State Univ., Puyallup and Pullman, WA (United States)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

While much is known about microplastics in aquatic environments, only few studies have focused on how microplastics interact with terrestrial organisms. The objective of our study was to investigate the interactions of earthworms with microplastics in a natural environment with environmentally realistic plastic concentrations. Here we investigated whether earthworms would ingest microplastics and incorporate them into their bodies and cast, and whether microplastics would alter the intestinal and soil microbiome. Lumbricus terrestris was exposed to two types of mi croplastics, biodegradable polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in mesocosoms filled with natural soil. Microplastics were mixed with poplar leaves and earthworms were allowed to forage for food for 20 days. Surface and bulk soil, earthworm cast, and earthworms themselves were sampled and analyzed for plastic content and microbial communities. Earthworms did not show macroscopic health deterioration (weight loss, vitality). We observed microplastics particles in earthworm casts and guts. Raman spectroscopy indicated that PBAT in guts and cast had degraded to some extent; however, LDPE remained unchanged among the different samples. Microbial analysis showed that soil and casts has similar microbial communities; however, they were signicantly different from the guts samples. Microplastic treatments did not result in a statistically signicant change in bacterial richness, diversity or community composition compared to controls. Taken together, our results suggest that, at environmentally realistic concentrations and short exposure times, PBAT and LDPE microplastics do not have adverse effects on Lumbricus terrestris earthworms.

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Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDA; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1984062

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-180259

Journal Information:: ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, Journal Name: ACS Agricultural Science & Technology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 3; ISSN 2692-1952

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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biodegradable plastics
earthworms
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microplastics
polyethylene

Title: Earthworms Exposed to Polyethylene and Biodegradable Microplastics in Soil: Microplastic Characterization and Microbial Community Analysis

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