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Spread performance and underlying mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes adhered on microplastics in the sediments of different urban water bodies
Summary
Researchers studied how microplastics in the sediments of three types of urban water bodies in China harbor pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. They found that polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics were dominant, and these particles enriched harmful bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa on their surfaces. The study suggests that microplastics in urban waterways may serve as vehicles for spreading antibiotic-resistant pathogens, posing potential risks to public health.
Urban water bodies often pose frequent human activities, the pollution of microplastics (MPs) in these sediments, and pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) enriched on the MPs may have risk to human health. However, there is little known about these issues. In this paper, three typical urban water bodies (the urban park lake, the urban inland river, and the urban-rural lake) were selected to identify the characteristics of MPs. Furthermore, the enrichment and driving mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs on MPs in sediments were studied. These three water bodies were polluted with MPs, dominated by polyethylene (PE)-MPs and polystyrene (PS)-MPs. Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudomonadota, etc. as the main types of pathogenic bacteria, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii as significantly enriched in the urban inland rivers. The predominant ARGs were bacitracin- (bacA) and sulfonamide- (sul1) resistant ARGs. Transposase was the main genetic elements that drove the transfer of ARGs and the main resistance mechanism of ARGs was antibiotic efflux. The enrichment behavior of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs on MPs was also driven by the types of MPs, especially PS-MPs. The pathogenic bacteria at urban inland rivers had more types of ARGs, transfer elements and resistance mechanisms, thus the risk of pathogenic bacteria resistance needed specific concern. The results of our study were of great significance to gain insights into the pathogenic resistance risks and ecological risks of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs in sediments of urban water bodies.
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