Prof. Nathanael JIN Ling, Member of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood), the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), and Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Health Technology and Informatics, has recently published an invited review paper in One Earth by Cell Press, examining the planetary health impacts of the airborne plastisphere.
Microplastics are a ubiquitous yet long-overlooked component of airborne particulate matter. The surface of these plastic particles provides a unique niche for microorganisms, collectively referred to as the plastisphere. In aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the plastisphere harbours microbial communities with distinct compositions, structures and functional profiles, posing potential risks to planetary health. However, the characteristics, fate and impacts of the microbiome associated with airborne microplastics remain largely unknown.
In this review, the team addressed these knowledge gaps by exploring how airborne microplastics serve as key habitats for microorganisms and the potential implications for planetary health. They demonstrated that microplastics are likely to transport and sustain microorganisms over long distances and timescales in the atmosphere, potentially dispersing pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes and other bioactive agents across ecosystems. Such interactions may disrupt ecological processes and biological health on a planetary scale. Prof. JIN emphasised that interdisciplinary research and innovative methodologies are urgently required to better understand and mitigate the risks associated with the airborne plastisphere.
Read the full paper: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322%2825%2900272-6
未來食品研究院、可持續城市發展研究院及精神健康研究中心成員兼土木及環境工程學系及醫療科技及資訊學系助理教授金靈，最近在Cell Press旗下期刊《One Earth》發表特邀綜述論文，探討空氣懸浮塑膠生物圈對地球健康的影響。
微塑膠是常見的空氣懸浮粒子成分，長期以來卻未受到足夠關注。這些塑膠粒子的表面為微生物提供了獨特的生存空間，統稱為「塑膠生物圈」。在水域及陸地生態系統中，塑膠生物圈孕育著具有獨特組成、結構和功能特徵的微生物群落，對地球健康構成潛在風險。然而，關於空氣懸浮中微塑膠相關微生物群落的特性、命運及其影響，目前仍知之甚少。
在這篇綜述中，研究團隊通過探討空氣懸浮微塑膠如何成為微生物的主要棲息地，以及其對地球健康的潛在影響，填補了相關知識空白。他們指出，微塑膠很可能導致微生物在大氣中長距離、長時間傳播並存活，進而將病原體、抗生素抗性基因及其他生物活性因子傳播至整個生態系統。這些相互作用可能在全球範圍內擾亂生態過程及生物健康。金靈教授強調，急需交叉學科研究及創新方法，以更好地理解並減緩空氣懸浮塑膠生物圈的相關風險。
閱讀論文全文：https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322%2825%2900272-6（只有英文）
