Impact of Microplastics on Microbial Communities in Polar Environments

Plastic pollution has been detected in several ecosystems and has reached remote areas in the Arctic and Antarctic environments. These regions are unique ecosystems and have been reported as the most susceptible habitats due to climatic changes and pollution events, especially with recalcitrant compounds. Microorganisms from the plastisphere, involving microbial communities growing on plastic debris surfaces, could be a bioremediation resource to mitigate and restore affected areas. Bioremediation is especially challenging in cold environments, where temperatures can be a limiting parameter for microbial performance, thereby hindering an efficient clean-up process. Synthetic microplastics (MP) (≤5 mm fragments) are emerging contaminants that have been found to accumulate in aquatic environments and soils. Microfibres (MF) are derived from the degradation of textiles, with major environmental concerns associated with synthetic materials, such as polyester and nylon. Research into cold-adapted microorganisms capable of degrading synthetic recalcitrant MP and MF is essential to discover new catalysts for low-temperature process applications. The present chapter aims to describe the impact of synthetic microfibres and microplastic pollution on cold-adapted microbial communities, as well as microorganisms capable of plastic degradation occurring in polar and subpolar ecosystems.