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Plastisphere Microbial Community and Functional Differences with Risk of Antibiotic Resistance Gene Transmission Throughout Wastewater Treatment
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Tiny plastic particles in wastewater treatment plants are creating protective bubbles around dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, helping them survive the cleaning process that's supposed to kill them. This means these "superbug" bacteria are making it through treatment and getting released into rivers and lakes where people might be exposed to them. The findings suggest we need better ways to remove microplastics from wastewater to prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which serve as a bridge between wastewater and aquatic environment, may inadvertently introduce microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into receiving water. Microplastics in wastewater can accumulate microorganisms to form plastispheres, potentially increasing the risk of ARGs in WWTP effluent. To better understand this phenomenon, this study utilized metagenomics and qPCR to investigate the characteristics of microorganisms and ARGs in plastisphere and wastewater throughout the wastewater treatment process. The results showed that there were significant differences in the microbial community structure and functional expression in plastisphere and wastewater. The microbial communities in plastisphere also exhibited superior diffusion rates and greater stability. Consequently, the disinfection unit significantly reduced microbial abundance, diversity, and Human Diseases-related metabolic pathways in wastewater, yet having minimal impact on plastisphere. Additionally, the increased microbial diversity and enhanced function associated with ARG proliferation in the plastisphere elevated the relative abundance of ARGs. The presence of microplastics in WWTP protected ARGs from elimination, thereby increasing the risk of ARG being carried in effluent, and this may pose serious threats to aquatic ecosystems. These findings provide insights into the ecological risks associated with microplastics in WWTPs and emphasize the importance of comprehensively controlling microplastics entry into wastewater and enhancing microplastic removal from WWTPs.
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Researchers found that microplastics in treated wastewater carry significantly more disease-causing bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors on their surfaces compared to the surrounding water. This means microplastics released from wastewater treatment plants into rivers and lakes could spread antibiotic-resistant infections, posing a direct risk to communities that rely on these water sources.
Stage-structured plastisphere succession sustains antibiotic resistomes on microplastics during full-scale A2/O wastewater treatment
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Tiny bits of plastic that pass through wastewater treatment plants can act like rafts for bacteria carrying antibiotic-resistance genes, and this study found that these "plastic-riding" microbial communities stay more stable and hold onto resistance genes better than bacteria floating freely in the water. That means treated wastewater released into rivers and lakes may still carry microplastic-linked antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could contribute to the spread of hard-to-treat infections in the environment.
Microplastic-mediated antimicrobial resistance in aquatic environments: plastisphere dynamics, ecological risks, and mitigation strategies
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Tiny plastic particles floating in water aren't just pollution—they act like rafts where bacteria gather and swap genes that make them resistant to antibiotics, potentially making infections harder to treat. This review paper rounds up existing research on how this happens and compares different water treatment methods (like filtration and chemical treatments) that could remove both the plastics and the resistant bacteria at once. The takeaway: tackling microplastic pollution in our water systems may be an important, underappreciated tool for slowing the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Exploiting microplastics and the plastisphere for the surveillance of human pathogenic bacteria discharged into surface waters in wastewater effluent
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Researchers placed small plastic particles in rivers upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant and found that disease-causing bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella, quickly formed biofilms on them within 24 hours. These biofilms carried antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors, showing that microplastics in waterways can serve as floating platforms for dangerous bacteria that pose risks to human health.
Fates of extracellular and intracellular antibiotic resistance genes in activated sludge and plastisphere under sulfadiazine pressure
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Researchers found that microplastics in wastewater treatment systems act as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes, with the plastic surfaces (plastisphere) harboring more resistance genes than the surrounding sludge. When exposed to the antibiotic sulfadiazine, the spread of resistance genes on microplastic surfaces increased, and DNA from potential pathogens was detected. This suggests that microplastics leaving wastewater treatment plants could carry drug-resistant bacteria into waterways, posing a risk to public health.
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