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Identification of microplastic-associated microbial communities from various stages of wastewater treatment and recipient surface waters using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry = Mikroműanyagokhoz társuló mikrobiális közösségek azonosítása a szennyvíztisztítás különböző fázisaiban és a befogadó felszíni vizekben MALDI-TOF MS módszerrel
Summary
Researchers used MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify microbial communities colonizing six types of microplastics deployed at multiple stages of wastewater treatment and in receiving surface waters, assessing how MPs serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes.
Recent studies have identified microplastics (MPs) in wastewater as surfaces that facilitate microbial colonization and act as vectors for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs). Their presence throughout the wastewater treatment process highlights the importance of investigating the microbial communities associated with MPs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their potential implications for environmental and human health. This study investigates microbial colonization on MPs in wastewater by sampling six types of MPs deployed at various phases of wastewater treatment in three different WWTPs across Hungary, between June 2024 and March 2025. MPs were incubated in plastic colonizers submerged in treated and untreated wastewater. Post-retrieval, MPs were processed using selective media to ARBs, using Chromatic agar plates and selective medium for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Strains were identified by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) at the genus level. Based on our results, Stenotrophomonas, Aeromonas genera, and members of the Enterobacteriaceae family were the dominant antibiotic-resistant bacterial taxa associated with MPs. | A legújabb kutatások alapján a szennyvizekben található mikroműanyagok elősegíthetik a mikroorganizmusok kolonizációját, és vektorként szolgálhatnak az antibiotikum-rezisztencia gének (ARG-k) és az antibiotikum-rezisztens baktériumok (ARB-k) terjedésében. A mikroműanyagok jelenléte a szennyvíztisztítás teljes folyamatában igazolt, mely indokolja a szennyvíztisztító telepeken előforduló, mikroműanyagokhoz kötődő baktériumközösség vizsgálatát, különös tekintettel a környezeti és humán egészségre gyakorolt hatásokra. Jelen tanulmány hatféle mikroműanyag mikrobiális kolonizációját vizsgálta szennyvízben, amelyek 2024 júniusa és 2025 márciusa között, három magyarországi szennyvíztisztító telep különböző kezelési fázisaiban (nyers és tisztított szennyvízben) kerültek kihelyezésre. Az inkubációt követően visszagyűjtött mikroműanyagokról szelektív Chromatic agar táptalajon tenyésztettünk antibiotikum-rezisztens baktériumokat, illetve szintén szelektív táptalajon dúsítottuk másik célszervezetünket, a Pseudomonas aeruginosa fajt. Az izolátumok azonosítása nemzetség szinten történt, mátrix-asszisztált lézerdeszorpciós/ionizációs repülési idő tömegspektrometriával (MALDI-TOF MS). Eredményeink alapján a Stenotrophomonas és Aeromonas nemzetségek, valamint az Enterobacteriaceae család tagjai voltak a mikroműanyagokhoz társuló domináns antibiotikum-rezisztens bakteriális taxonok.
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