Polyvinyl chloride microplastics in the aquatic environment enrich potential pathogenic bacteria and spread antibiotic resistance genes in the fish gut

Microplastics and antibiotics coexist in aquatic environments, especially in freshwater aquaculture areas. However, as the second largest production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the world, the effects of co-exposure to microplastics particles and antibiotics on changes in antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles and the microbial community structure of aquatic organism gut microorganisms are poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, carp (Cyprinus carpio) were exposed to single or combined PVC microplastic contamination and oxytetracycline (OTC) or sulfamethazine (SMZ) for 8 weeks. PVC microplastics can enrich potential pathogenic bacteria, such as Enterobacter and Acinetobacter, among intestinal microorganisms. The presence of PVC microplastics enhanced the selective enrichment and dissemination risk of ARGs. PVC microplastics combined with OTC (OPVC) treatment significantly increased the abundance of tetracycline resistance genes (1.40-fold) compared with that in the OTC exposure treatment, revealing an obvious co-selection effect. However, compared with those in the control group, the total abundance of ARGs and MGEs in the OPVC treatment groups were significantly lower, which was correlated with the reduced abundances of the potential host Enterobacter. Overall, our results emphasized the diffusion and spread of ARGs are more influenced by PVC microplastics than by antibiotics, which may lead to antibiotic resistance in aquaculture.