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Unexpected mitigation of microplastic-induced nitrification inhibition by sulfamethoxazole: The pivotal roles of polymer aging and microbial metabolic shifts
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Scientists found that plastic pollution and a common antibiotic interact in surprising ways inside wastewater treatment plants, sometimes making pollution's harmful effects worse, sometimes better, depending on the plastic type and how weathered it is. This matters because wastewater treatment protects our water supplies, and understanding these hidden chemical interactions helps engineers keep treatment systems working properly as plastic and drug pollution keeps rising.
Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics are ubiquitous emerging co-contaminants in wastewaters, yet how microplastic aging modulates their combined toxicity to biological nitrification remains poorly defined. This limits accurate risk assessment of MPs in biological treatment systems. Here, metagenomic sequencing was used to systematically compare the individual and combined effects of virgin and aged polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polylactic acid (PLA) MPs, co-occurring with sulfamethoxazole (SMX), on nitrification in continuous-flow bioreactors. The results demonstrate that aging exerts polymer-specific contrasting effects: aging exacerbated PVC-induced nitrification inhibition, reducing nitrification rate decreased from 9.55 to 6.91 mg N/g-SS·h and increasing inhibition from 16.4% to 39.5%, while aging mitigated PLA-induced inhibition from 7.0% to 1.2%, driven by aging-altered surface properties and polymer-specific differences in dissolved organic carbon leaching. Unespectedly, co-exposure to 50 μg/L SMX alleviated microplastic-induced nitrification inhibition, reshaped microbial community structure by replacing dominant nitrifier Nitrospira with Nitrosomonas, and modulated the abundance of functional genes encoding ammonia monooxygenase to rewire nitrogen metabolism. These findings reveal that microplastic aging status and polymer identity are critical regulators of nitrification toxicity, and low-concentration antibiotic co-contamination can mitigate inhibition via microbial community and metabolic reprogramming, advancing mechanistic understanding of microplastic ecotoxicity in biological wastewater treatment.
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Scientists tested whether tiny plastic particles and other chemicals in water make it harder to remove antibiotics using advanced water treatment methods. This matters because leftover antibiotics in our water supply can contribute to drug resistant bacteria, and understanding what blocks cleanup efforts helps engineers design better treatment systems to protect drinking water.
Dissecting the effects of co-exposure to microplastics and sulfamethoxazole on anaerobic digestion
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Researchers examined how microplastics combined with the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole affect the anaerobic digestion process used in wastewater treatment. They found that the combination reduced methane production and altered microbial communities, while also promoting widespread antibiotic resistance among the microorganisms. The study highlights concerns about how co-occurring microplastics and antibiotics in sewage could undermine wastewater treatment efficiency.
Effects of microplastics accumulation and antibiotics contamination in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment
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This study found that when aged PVC microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin are both present in wastewater treatment systems, they interact to make each other's harmful effects worse. The combination cut treatment efficiency in half and disrupted the microbes needed for wastewater processing, raising concerns about how microplastic pollution could undermine water treatment that protects public health.
Polyethylene microplastics impose reversible redox suppression in sulfur-driven wastewater treatment systems under antibiotic co-stress
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (microplastics) can weaken the "helpful bacteria" wastewater treatment plants use to break down antibiotics and pollutants, causing cell stress and reducing how well antibiotics get removed from water. The good news: this damage isn't permanent—once the microplastics were removed, the bacteria bounced back and antibiotic removal returned to normal. This matters because it suggests treatment plants could recover from temporary microplastic pollution spikes, but it also shows how these tiny plastics can interfere with systems designed to keep contaminants like antibiotics out of our water supply
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