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Multi‐omics insights into surface charge effects to decode the interplay of nanoplastics and bacterial antibiotic resistance
Summary
Researchers discovered that nanoplastics with a positive surface charge help bacteria become more resistant to antibiotics by turning on stress-defense genes and promoting the spread of resistance genes between bacteria. In contrast, negatively charged nanoplastics had the opposite effect, disrupting bacterial communities in ways that could reduce resistance. This finding is important for human health because it suggests that the type of nanoplastic pollution in the environment could influence how quickly antibiotic-resistant superbugs develop and spread.
Multi-omics approaches revealed how nanoplastics with different surface charges influence antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli K12. Positively charged nanoplastics enhanced antibiotic resistance by upregulating genes and proteins linked to oxidative stress tolerance and efflux pumps, and promoted antibiotic resistance genes transfer via conjugation and transformation. In contrast, negatively charged nanoplastics disrupted biofilm formation and metabolism, potentially reducing antibiotic resistance. These findings highlight the critical role of nanoplastics' surface properties in shaping microbial resistance dynamics and highlight emerging risks posed by nanoplastics to public health through accelerated antibiotic resistance propagation.