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Global surface-water microparticle carrier-load patterns across aquatic ecosystems: a spatial framework for prioritizing future plastisphere-associated antimicrobial resistance surveillance
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Researchers combined two global surface-water datasets (2013-2017, 2,399 samples) to map where plastic particles are commonly found in freshwater, estuaries, coastal areas, and open ocean. Particle detection and concentration were highest in open ocean samples, and the study identified 28 locations as priorities for future, separate testing of antibiotic-resistant microbes, not confirmed resistance hotspots themselves.
Microplastic-associated biofilms can concentrate microorganisms, mobile genetic elements, and co-selective chemicals, but globally comparable measurements of plastisphere antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain sparse. We therefore asked where surface-water particle carrier-load is sufficiently high to define candidate locations for paired, confirmatory plastisphere-AMR surveillance, without treating particle abundance as a proxy for AMR burden. We harmonized two worldwide surface-water datashares collected during 2013-2017. After removing three exact duplicate freshwater records and reserving 18 depth-profile samples for sensitivity analysis, 2,399 samples were classified as freshwater (n=1,006), estuarine (n=45), coastal (n=663), or open ocean (n=685). A two-part hurdle framework modeled particle detection and, among positive samples, log concentration, using 2-degree spatial-cell cluster-robust standard errors and adjustment for sampling year, platform, and container material. Operational surveillance-priority cells required at least three samples, at least 50% detection, and a median concentration at or above the ecosystem-specific 90th percentile among eligible cells. Detection increased from 49.5% in freshwater to 75.6% in estuaries, 79.3% at the coast, and 94.5% in the open ocean. Relative to freshwater, adjusted odds ratios for detection were 2.28 (95% CI 1.03-5.05), 2.20 (1.51-3.19), and 4.78 (2.62-8.75), respectively. The estuarine estimates should be interpreted cautiously because only 45 strict estuarine samples were available, and classification was based on text-derived source information. Among positive samples, adjusted geometric mean ratios were 1.45 (0.79-2.67), 1.40 (1.14-1.72), and 2.99 (2.33-3.84). Filaments constituted 82.7%-95.1% of classified particles. Twenty-eight operational hotspot cells were identified, although several open-ocean cells reflected concentrated campaign sampling. This analysis provides a transparent carrier-load layer for selecting candidate locations for future paired measurements of resistance genes, resistant organisms, antibiotics, metals, and mobile genetic elements. The identified cells are substrate-rich sampling priorities, not microbiologically verified AMR hotspots, and their value for AMR surveillance remains to be empirically validated.
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