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Microplastics—The Microbiota Interactions: Mechanisms, Multi-Omics Insights and Health Implications
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics interact with microbial communities across terrestrial, aquatic, and gut environments, synthesizing evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and environmental studies showing that MP exposure drives dysbiosis, impairs immune function, and accelerates the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.
Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive environmental contaminants detected in terrestrial, aquatic, and human systems. Emerging evidence indicates that MPs interact dynamically with microbiota across ecosystems, including host-associated microbiota such as the human gut, influencing microbial composition, metabolic activity, and functional potential. These interactions contribute to dysbiosis, altered immune responses, and increased dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), posing health risks. This review synthesizes current knowledge on mechanisms of microplastic–microbiota interactions, highlighting evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and environmental studies. We discuss methodological challenges, including variability in particle types, concentrations, aging, and analytical approaches. Recent advances in multi-omics techniques provide deeper mechanistic understanding and reveal functional consequences of MP exposure. We outline critical knowledge gaps and propose future research directions, aiming to provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating ecological and human health consequences of microplastic exposure.
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Microplastics—The Microbiota Interactions: Mechanisms, Multi-Omics Insights and Health Implications
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This review examines how microplastics interact with microbial communities across human, animal, and environmental settings using a One Health framework. Microplastics disrupt the normal balance of microbiota in the gut, soil, and water, and serve as surfaces where harmful bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes accumulate and spread. The authors argue that understanding these microplastic-microbe interactions across all domains of life is essential for protecting both ecosystem and human health.
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This review examines how microplastics interact with microbiota (the communities of microorganisms in the environment and in living bodies). Microplastics can carry harmful bacteria and disrupt the natural balance of microbial communities in soil, water, and the human gut. The disruption of gut microbiota by microplastics is particularly concerning because a healthy gut microbiome is essential for immune function, digestion, and overall health.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.