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Size-dependent effect of microplastics on sulfamethoxazole degraders in soil as revealed by integration of SIP and metagenomics
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Researchers used DNA stable isotope probing combined with metagenomics and Raman-activated cell sorting to identify microbes that degrade the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole in soils containing polyethylene microplastics, finding that large-sized MPs (4.5 mm) enhanced degradation by improving soil conditions and microbial diversity, while small MPs (0.1 mm) inhibited it by creating harsher conditions that suppressed degrader populations.
Microbes related to antibiotic degradation in situ in agricultural soil with MPs and their response to different sizes of MPs are ambiguity. This study investigated the microbes participating in antibiotic degradation in soils with 4.5 mm and 0.1 mm MPs by using DNA-SIP with metagenomics, Raman-activated cell sorting (RACS) with sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and polyethylene as the model compound and MPs. The 4.5 mm MPs enhanced SMX degradation by promoting diversity and abundance of degraders benefiting from improved soil properties, relation between degraders and SMX, and bacteria with positive co-occurrence relationship with degraders. The 0.1 mm MPs inhibited SMX degradation by decreasing diversity, abundance of degraders, and intensifying bacteria mutually exclusive with degraders due to harsher soil conditions. Furthermore, DNA-SIP-RACS successfully acquired cells of SIP-identified putative degraders, and directly linked SMX degradation potential with metC1, metF1and luxS1, proving possibility of applying this approach in antibiotic-degrading microbes in soil.
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Mechanism of microplastics promoting sulfamethoxazole biodegradation in activated sludge as revealed by DNA-stable isotope probing
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Researchers used isotope-labeling techniques to identify which bacteria in activated sludge actually degrade the common antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, discovering 13 previously unknown degrading bacterial genera. Adding microplastics to the sludge enhanced antibiotic breakdown by restructuring the microbial community, increasing the abundance of degrading bacteria, and promoting cooperative interactions between species. This finding is both promising — microplastics may inadvertently improve antibiotic removal in treatment plants — and concerning, as it reveals how plastic pollution reshapes the microbiology of wastewater systems in complex, unpredictable ways.
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Researchers incubated polyethylene microplastics of three different sizes in antibiotic-resistant soils and found that smaller particles had the strongest effect on spreading antibiotic resistance genes and increasing pathogen abundance. The microplastics altered soil chemistry, reduced beneficial enzyme activity, and promoted the growth of potentially harmful bacteria while decreasing beneficial species. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution in soils may worsen the spread of antibiotic resistance, with particle size playing a key role.
Stable isotopes and nanoSIMS single-cell imaging reveals soil plastisphere colonizers able to assimilate sulfamethoxazole
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Researchers used stable isotope labeling and nanoSIMS single-cell imaging to identify soil bacteria capable of colonizing plastic surfaces (the plastisphere) and assimilating 13C-labeled sulfamethoxazole antibiotic, revealing how plastic-antibiotic combinations in soil influence microbial metabolism and potential antibiotic resistance propagation.
Plastic-mediated alterations in soil microbial networks and their role in sulfamethazine degradation.
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Plastic pollution in soil doesn't just sit there—it changes which bacteria thrive, and this study found that plastic-associated microbes actually made it harder for soil to break down a common livestock antibiotic (sulfamethazine), causing it to build up by about 25%. This matters because it suggests plastic waste in farmland could help antibiotics linger longer in the environment, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance and contaminating soil, crops, and water we rely on.
Effects of co-loading of polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin on the antibiotic degradation efficiency and microbial community structure in soil
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Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin together affect soil microbial communities and antibiotic degradation. The study found that co-loading of microplastics with antibiotics altered microbial community structure and affected the rate of antibiotic degradation in soil, suggesting microplastic contamination may influence how soils process pharmaceutical pollutants.
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