{
  "id": 6239081,
  "title": "Riverine plastic litter restructures microbial vitamin B12 metabolism and generates functional heterogeneity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/riverine-plastic-litter-restructures-microbial-vitamin-b12-metabolism",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-07T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.749157v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Riverine plastic litter significantly alters microbial vitamin B12 metabolism, creating functional diversity, according to a study characterizing plastisphere and water-column communities along the River Rhine. The researchers analyzed ATR-FTIR polymer characterization, 16S/18S rRNA amplicon profiles, and 120 metagenome-assembled genomes from 14 stations. Plastisphere communities exhibited distinct taxonomic profiles from water communities (PERMANOVA R = 0.258, p = 0.0001). Although the functional centroid remained similar (R = 0.245, p = 0.125), functional composition across sites was notably more varied (permutest p = 0.0047). The core B12 biosynthetic pathway, aerobic corrin ring synthesis, was among the most differentiated functions and enriched on plastic at all paired stations (Wilcoxon exact test, W = 3, p = 0.004079). This finding correlated with a diatom-dominated eukaryotic plastisphere community; diatoms cannot synthesize B12 and rely on bacterial provision. The presence of plastisphere communities was less tightly linked to the river's dissolved nutrient gradient compared to water communities (envfit R = 0.64 vs. 0.82). These results demonstrate that riverine plastic litter actively reshapes specific metabolic abilities of its inhabitants, with vitamin B12 metabolism serving as a prime example.",
  "summary": "Rivers transport most land-derived plastic waste to the ocean, yet how this reshapes microbial metabolic potential remains poorly resolved. We characterized plastisphere and water-column communities across 14 stations along the River Rhine, integrating ATR-FTIR polymer characterization, 16S/18S rRNA amplicon profiles, and 120 metagenome-assembled genomes. Plastisphere communities were…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}