Seite - 182 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

an integrated view of these fields of researchwill enhance our knowledge of the complexbehavior and ecological impacts ofmicroplastic pollutants. Keywords Biodegradation,Biofilms,Microorganisms, Pathogens, Plastisphere Abbreviations BONCAT Bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging FACS Fluorescence-activated cell sorting FISH Fluorescence in situ hybridization FT-IR Fourier-transform infrared HDPE High-density polyethylene LDPE Low-density polyethylene MALDI-ToFMS Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flightmass spectrometry MDA Multiple displacement amplification PET Polyethylene terephthalate PHBV Polyhydroxybutyrate-polyhydroxyvalerate PP Polypropylene PS Polystyrene (r)DNA (Ribosomal) deoxyribonucleic acid (r)RNA (Ribosomal) ribonucleic acid SIMS Secondary ionmass spectrometry SNP Single-nucleotide polymorphism UV Ultraviolet WWTP Wastewater treatment plant XPS X-rayphotoelectron spectroscopy XRD X-raydiffraction 1 Introduction Microplastics (particleswithanuppersize limitof<5mm)aregloballydistributed within aquatic environments,with up to 51 trillion pieces estimated tofloat at sea alone[1,2].Theyareencounteredwithin thewatercolumnandsediments,with the latter functioningasasinkfor theaccumulationofplasticwaste [3–5].Mostplastic litter originates from land-based activities, with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and inland waters comprising an important route through which this pollution reaches marine environments [6, 7]. While a substantial proportion of microplastic is likely to become sequestered within freshwaters, the amount of plastic entering the sea is predicted to increase by an order ofmagnitude by 2025 (corresponding to an input of up to 250millionmetric tons) [7]. Legislation for phasing out microplastics in cosmetic products (e.g., theMicrobead-FreeWaters Actof2015 in theUSA)canbeexpected toachieveonlya limited reduction in the quantity of environmental plastic debris. 182 J.P.Harrison et al.