Interaction effects and mechanisms of microorganisms and microplastics in soil environment

Abstract The issue of microplastic pollution has long been a global ecological priority, while biodegradation has received increasing attention as an important route for microplastic degradation. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are microplastics frequently found in soil. Excessive amounts of microplastics can cause damage to soil structure. Microplastics can negatively affect the water holding capacity of the soil and reduce the permeability of the soil. In addition, microplastics can aggregate with the soil, altering the soil environment and impeding the growth of plant roots. In the soil environment, microplastics can interact with microorganisms, and different types of microorganisms interact with different forms of microplastics in different ways. In this paper, the main pathways of microbial degradation of microplastics are compiled, including four stages: colonization, fragmentation, assimilation and mineralization, focusing on the analysis of different microbes in the soil environment on the mechanism of different types of microplastics and the related enzyme reactions, in order to avoid the toxicity of MPs to microorganisms in the soil environment, and the main factors affecting the activity in the process of degradation are reviewed, which will provide a reasonable basis for the subsequent degradation of the maximization.