Project description
Exploring biodegradable plastics in marine environments
Plastic Marine Debris (PMD) poses a significant threat to the planet, prompting efforts to find eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics. However, understanding the breakdown of plastic in marine environments and its impact on ecosystems remains incomplete. To address this, the ERC-funded ViBRANT-SEA project aims to study the breakdown rates of biodegradable plastics and their additives. It will also create a fish model for toxicity testing and analyse microbial metagenomes from global plastic samples to identify genes and enzymes associated with plastic biodegradation in marine settings. The project plans to use advanced techniques to measure biodegradation rates and develop a marine fish organoid model for toxicity assessment.
Objective
Plastic Marine Debris (PMD) is now considered a planetary boundary threat and the “Plastic Cycle” a biogeochemical cycle. The impacts of single-use plastic litter in marine environments have prompted a search for greener alternatives such as the biodegradable/compostable plastics polyhydroxyalkanoates and polylactic acid already being used for consumer goods. The diversity of microbes, their enzymes, and their role in influencing the rates of plastic biodegradation in nature remains poorly characterized – particularly in cold or low-oxygen marine waters and seafloor, where most PMD accumulates. The impact of lag duration, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and potential priority effects of initial microbial colonizers remain vital but unaddressed concerns. In addition, the impact of plastic, its breakdown products, and additives on marine organisms and ecosystems is largely unquantified. Two urgent questions are how long does plastic last in the marine environment and what are the impacts on ecosystems. This technology-enabled project aims to quantify biodegradation rates of biodegradable plastics and plastic-associated additives in the field and under controlled laboratory conditions, and to develop a fish model system for toxicity tests to fill these knowledge gaps. This project will generate novel microbial metagenomes from global plastic samples collected during cruises and from biodegradation experiments to create a comprehensive list of genes and enzymes linked to biodegradation of biodegradable plastic in marine environments. It will be the first to combine in situ respirometry, stable isotope probing, and advanced imaging techniques to measure biodegradable plastic biodegradation rates while visualizing microbe-microbe interactions on the plastic surface, revealing cellular mechanisms occurring during active biodegradation. Finally, it will develop the first marine fish organoid model for consistent and efficient testing of toxicity due to plastics and additives.
Fields of science
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplasticspolylactic acid
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid statics
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplasticspolyhydroxyalkanoates
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
3526 KV Utrecht
Netherlands