Investigating the impacts of microplastics on pathogen intake by marine organisms.
Maine Sea Grant funded project: February 2024 – January 2026.
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Plastics are ubiquitous pollutants of marine environments. Of greatest concern are microplastics (MP), which are particles < 5 mm, that can be ingested by marine organisms and are abundant within aquatic food webs. Given that microbial biofilms are found on ocean-derived MP, we speculate that pathogen transfer from MP to ingesting aquatic organisms may occur. Our lab is examining the role of MP in mediating pathogen entry and retention in important marine organisms used for human consumption by using finfish and bivalve shellfish models. This project is supported by an award from the Maine Sea Grant program.
Generation of bacterial-coated plastic microfibers (MF). Red fluorescent polyethylene terapthalate (PETP) MF are generated in the laboratory and coated with GFP-expressing bacteria. (Left to right: Lyle Massoia spooling PETP thread and cutting 50 um PETP fibers on a cryostat, red-fluorescent PETP fibers with a coating of GFP-E. coli.
We use zebrafish as a model to study the effect of microplastics on bacterial entry and retention in edible finfish. The zebrafish work was Lyle Massoia’s MS project, and she was helped by numerous undergrads, including Lauren Adams (pictured at the computer assessing fish gut morphology).
We are also studying the role of microplastics in bacterial colonization of oysters. Burkholder lab MS student, Abigail Blouch-Vigue, is tackling this for her MS project. She partners with Mikayla Straube, MS student of the Byron lab in UNE’s Marine Science program. Mikayla is studying whether rearing oysters in plastic-free aquaculture gear can reduce plastic load in the bivalve’s tissues.