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H2020Individual fellowship2021–2023

TRAMPAS · Transport, retention, and release of synthesized DNAs through microplastics affected-soils: mimicking bacteria behavior with regards to climate change and global warming

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2021-10-01 → 2023-09-30
EU contribution
€224,934
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF

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Results in brief

Transport, retention, and release of synthesized DNAs through microplastics affected-soils: mimicking bacteria behavior with regards to climate change and global warming

Microplastics can adversely affect soils, but the underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. In TRAMPAS we brought together a wide range of approaches through multidisciplinary studies to explore two challenges of societal importance including microplastic soil pollution and pathogen fate in the environment. Our research primarily concentrated on assessing the influence of microplastics on soil wettability, stability, and structure, alongside their degradation. The TRAMPAS studies aimed to fulfil three key research and training objectives. (i) Measure and determine the hydraulic and hydro-physical properties of soils affected by microplastics under various environmental stresses. This involves understanding the alterations in the structure and stability of polluted soils. (ii) Investigate the transport, retention, and release of bacteria, utilizing tracers and a new generation of synthesized DNA, through microplastic-affected soils. Additionally, assess the fate of microplastic additives. (iii) Characterize the impacts of the plastisphere in agricultural systems to examine microplastics’ degradation in the soil. This helps in comprehending the physicochemical changes occurring in both microplastics and soil. For the first objective, we quantified the impacts using high-energy moisture characteristic curves (HEMC; water retention at matric suctions from 0 to 50 hPa). In the second research, we developed a Silica-DNA tracer to mimic bacteria transport and fate in microplastics-affected soils under extremely dry soil conditions using a comprehensive leaching study that was also extended to focus on the transport and fate of microplastics additives in soil as the third study. Finally, in the third objective was performed through the incubation of microplastics and soil to explore physicochemical changes of microplastics and soils after degradation using ATR-FTIR as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) where we proposed a new soil sampling strategy to measure soil plastisphere contact angle.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Microplastic pollution has received considerable attention for the marine environment, but hidden out of sight are microplastics in soil. In Europe alone, there are likely more microplastics in soil than in all the world’s oceans. Microplastics can adversely affect soils, but the underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. A significant impact could be increased hydrophobicity of the soil pore surface, which can increase the movement of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. I found that the concentration of microplastics and soil temperature increase the soil-water contact angle, a measure of hydrophobicity. This project will explore how microplastics influence soil through the development of hydrophobicity and the impacts to bacteria and virus transport and retention. It builds on my recent research that was the first to link the development of soil hydrophobicity with increased leaching of bacteria. Two challenges of societal importance are addressed: (1) microplastic pollution and (2) pathogen fate in the environment.I will bring together a range of approaches, starting first with quantifying how climatic stresses and soil properties interact with microplastics to induce hydrophobicity. This will be followed by leaching experiments, where microbial retention and leaching will be tracked with a novel approach using synthesised DNA. Soil pore scale processes will be measured using microfluidics, where the spread and retention of microbes and water can be visualised directly under highly controlled conditions. Finally, I will study microplastic contaminated soil, exploring the formation of microbial colonised microplastics – the ‘plastisphere’.Working with a strong multidisciplinary team I will gain excellent training in state-of-the-art analysis approaches. By using highly visual approaches in my research, such as microfluidics, I will be able to demonstrate its impact to a range of audiences, from the public, through policy, to scientists.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN · AberdeenCoordinatorUnited Kingdom

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union