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Biofilms on urban aquatic plastic pollution as a reservoir for pathogenic yeasts
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This study assessed the ability of conventional coagulation-flocculation water treatment to remove microplastics from drinking water. Treatment removed a high proportion of particles, but nanoplastic-sized particles showed lower removal efficiency, indicating that nanoplastics may pass through conventional treatment barriers.
ABSTRACT Pollution of aquatic environments is a concern and poses a health risk to aquatic and terrestrial life. Plastic pollutants act as surfaces to which microorganisms adhere, forming a community known as the plastisphere. Studies investigating the bacterial diversity of the plastisphere are plentiful, but less is known about the fungal communities, especially yeasts, within these biofilms. Given the increasingly recognised threat of yeast infections, it is important to investigate the environmental presence of potential pathogenic yeasts on possible vehicles that may contribute to their distribution. In this study, the fungal diversity of the plastisphere of various types of plastic polymers collected from an urban freshwater source was analysed, and possibly pathogenic yeast strains were identified. Isolates were also tested for susceptibility to the antifungal, fluconazole. Microscopy sheds light on the overall diversity found in the plastisphere, while metagenomic data revealed that fungal plastisphere communities are dominated by the phylum Ascomycota. Both metagenomic and culture-dependant analysis revealed the presence of possibly pathogenic yeast in the genera Candida (some with low fluconazole susceptibility) and Exophiala. This highlights the possibility that the plastisphere may harbour pathogenic yeasts and could contribute to their distribution in the environment and transmission between the environment and humans.
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Thermotolerance, virulence, and drug resistance of human pathogenic Candida species colonising plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems
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This study isolated five pathogenic Candida species from plastic debris collected in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments, with all isolates showing antifungal drug resistance and thermotolerance to human body temperature. Plastic pellets deployed near a wastewater discharge pipe became colonized by Candida with species composition reflecting the upstream/downstream source, suggesting plastic pollution facilitates environmental dissemination of clinically important pathogens.
Fluconazole resistant pathogenic yeasts isolated from plastic debris on recreational public beaches in West and East Africa
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This study screened plastic debris collected from recreational beaches in Nigeria and Tanzania for colonization by human pathogenic yeasts, finding that all beach sites and all plastic polymer types harbored at least one pathogenic yeast species, with Candida tropicalis being the most common. Importantly, most isolates showed resistance to fluconazole — Africa's most commonly prescribed antifungal — raising significant public health concerns about plastic debris as a vector for drug-resistant fungal pathogens.
Plastic pollution as a novel reservoir for the environmental survival of the drug resistant fungal pathogen Candida auris
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This study investigated the effects of nanoplastics on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, finding dose-dependent inhibition of seed germination and root elongation. Uptake of fluorescent polystyrene nanoplastics was confirmed by confocal microscopy, showing accumulation in root epidermal cells and suggesting active uptake mechanisms in plant tissues.
Aquatic Plastisphereas a Reservoir for Pathogenicand Antifungal-Resistant Fungi
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Scientists found that plastic debris floating in urban waterways is coated with a slimy microbial film that harbors disease-causing fungi—including some already flagged by the WHO as high-risk—many of which showed resistance to common antifungal drugs. This matters because it suggests plastic pollution isn't just an environmental problem; it may also be helping drug-resistant fungal infections spread and hitch rides through our water systems, making them harder to treat if they reach people.
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