Plastic pollution can harm both the micro and macro-organisms living in our oceans.

(Kevin Krejci)

At a Glance

Ten percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from a particular bacteria only found in the ocean. Prochlorococcus is the ocean's most abundant photosynthetic bacteria.Chemicals leaching from plastic pollution interfere with the growth, photosynthesis and oxygen production of the bacteria.

The plastics humans dump in the world's oceans may ultimately have an impact on the very air we breathe, a new study says.

Ten percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from a particular that is susceptible to plastic pollution, according to a study published this week in Communications Biology.

The tiny microorganisms pump out up to 10 percent of global oxygen production.

"So one in every you breathe in is thanks to these little guys, yet almost nothing is known about how marine bacteria, such as Prochlorococcus respond to human pollutants," lead author and Australia's Macquarie University researcher Sasha Tetu said in a press release.

The team of researchers exposed two strains of the bacteria to chemicals leached from plastic grocery bags and PVC matting, which is used to make rubber floor and yoga mats. They exposed the microbes at different depths in the ocean and found that exposure to the leached chemicals impaired the growth and function of the bacteria.

"We found that exposure to chemicals leaching from plastic pollution interfered with the growth, photosynthesis and oxygen production of Prochlorococcus, the ocean's most abundant photosynthetic bacteria," she added.

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Plastics are expected to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050, the press release noted. It has been estimated that plastic pollution causes $13 billion in economic damage to marine ecosystems each year.

"Unlike the threats posed by animals ingesting or getting entangled in plastic debris, the threat these leachates pose to marine life has received relatively little attention," Tetu said.

Tetu said their data shows that plastic pollution may have widespread ecosystem impacts beyond the known effects on marine life such as seabirds and turtles.

"If we truly want to understand the full impact of plastic pollution in the marine environment and find ways to mitigate it, we need to consider its impact on key microbial groups, including photosynthetic microbes," Tetu added.