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Microplastics enhance the enrichment and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments: A meta-analysis
Summary
Tiny plastic particles in water aren't just pollution, this analysis of multiple studies found they nearly double the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria genes in aquatic environments, essentially acting as gathering spots where these genes multiply and spread more easily. This matters because antibiotic resistance is already a major public health threat, and if microplastics in our waterways are helping resistant bacteria thrive and share their resistance traits, that could make infections harder to treat down the line, especially since smaller plastic particles seemed to make the problem worse.
Microplastics (MPs) serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), significantly influencing their abundance and spread. However, a systematic evaluation of the effects of MPs on spread of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) remains absent. This meta-analysis, based on 388 ARGs pairs observations and 107 MGEs pairs observations from 10 studies, assessed the effects of MPs exposure on the abundance of ARGs and MGEs. The results showed significant increases in the abundance of ARGs and MGEs by 96.93 % and 44.48 %, respectively, under MPs exposure compared to the control. A marked increase in ARGs abundance was observed with polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) MPs, whereas MGEs abundance increased significantly under PE MPs. Both ARGs and MGEs abundances were higher under exposure to nm-sized MPs. Additionally, the abundances of ARGs and MGEs significantly increased when MPs concentrations surpassed 1000 mg/L for ARGs and 500 mg/L for MGEs. Following MPs exposure, ARGs increased across different aquatic environments, while MGEs were notably elevated in leachate filtrate and sewage. Regardless of MPs removal during detection, both ARGs and MGEs abundances showed significant increases. Furthermore, these abundances showed a cumulative effect with prolonged treatment duration. Random forest analysis revealed MPs size and treatment duration as the primary factors influencing ARGs and MGEs abundance. These findings emphasized the role of MPs in promoting ARGs enrichment and dissemination, providing insights into the underlying mechanisms. This offers valuable guidance for controlling the spread of ARGs and mitigating its environmental risks.