subject: Germs Could Settle Plastic Pollution Problems [print this page] Microorganism is closely related to human`s production activities, living conditions and human existence. The Sales of tiffany jewellery are Reported to Make a New Record This Year
There are many foodstuffs (wine, yoghourt, mushroom), commercial products(leather,landification), medicaments( vitamin, ecological pesticide), all of which depend on microorganism . prom gowns , the Same Choice of Beauty Microorganisms play an important role in mineral exploration and mining, waste disposal (such as water purification, biogas) and other areas. The microbe is only identified to be both the nitrogen fixer(e.g. rhizobium of bean) and the degradator of palnt and animal residues(e.g. the degradation of cellulose). Meanwhile, it usually sets on the head and end of biological chain so that it can finish the connection among carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. Without microorganism, there would be no present boom and order of the nature or mankind and its continuation, as numberous creatures would have nothing to eat and the remains of the fibre of plants, not breaking down, would accumulate all along.
Besides, microbe also has an important effect on globle climate change. Many microbes take part in the emission and absorb of greenhouse gases, and many microbes can be the future biofuel. Microorganisms also play an important role in the life of marine microbes; they are organic life which is most likely to decompose toxic chemicals, and even plastic organisms in all organic life. The palstic waste in ocean will not only influence the ocean's scenery, but also will have a fatal influence on marine organim. However, the coastal micoorganism can skillfully get rid of the plastic elements in seawater. The conclusion arrived by Jesse Harrison is publicized later in the Spring Conference of Social Mass Microbiology held in Edinburgh. This study was completed together by researchers from the University of Sheffield and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
Mixed ocean microorganism can live in waste plastics, adn also can spread from a small flock to a more wide environment, which provides possibility for the marine microorganism which often contacts with plastics to take part in every activities, and these activities help a lot with degradating these harmful plastic or poisonous chemical elements. Plastic pollution is a long term problem because the natural decomposition of plastics in the nature needs several thousand years. Jesse Harrison says: "Many plastic wastes in our life are mostly discarded casually by consumers. And the rapid increasing and abundant man made wastes in the marine are from them."
For a long time, the size of plastic components become smaller and smaller in the ocean, because it's affected by natural forces. And the plastic debris with the size less than or equal to 5 mm are called "micro-plastics." This kind of plastic is dangerous, for they can absord poisonous chemical substance and transfer to the internal of marine animal through digestive system. The microorganisms have the largest number of organisms in the marine environments, and this is for the first time to study how they interact in plastic debris on the genetic basis. This new task researches the connector between microbe and fragments-polytene, the common element of plastic. Scientists find plastic is usually captured by various microbes rapidly and gather in its surface forming "biofilm". The interesting thing is this biofilm can produce with a special marine microbe. The research team lead by Mark Osben, the doctor from the University of Sheffield, plan to research on how the microbe make effect on the microplastics especially when the microplastic is changing according to the undersea conditions. They believe this research is bound to benefit the environment greatly. [Microorganism plays an important part in preserving the existence of marine creatures. Of all organisms, microorganism is the most possible one to dissolve toxic chemical substance even plastic." Mr. Harrison said.
