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The dangerous transporters: A study of microplastic-associated bacteria passing through municipal wastewater treatment
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This study characterized bacterial communities attached to microplastics sampled from multiple stages of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, finding that diverse bacteria including potential pathogens and antibiotic-resistant strains remained attached to microplastics through all treatment steps. The results suggest microplastics could transport hazardous bacteria through wastewater treatment and into receiving environments.
Microplastics (MPs) provide a stable and protective habitat for diverse wastewater bacteria, including pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant species. Therefore, MPs may potentially transport these bacteria through wastewater treatment steps to the environment and far distances. This study investigated bacterial communities of MP-associated bacteria from different stages of municipal wastewater treatment processes to evaluate the potential negative effect of these biofilms on the environment. The results showed a high diversity of bacteria that were strongly attached to MPs. After all treatment steps, the core bacterial groups remained attached to MPs and escaped from the wastewater treatment plant with effluent water. Several pathogenic bacteria were identified in MP samples from all treatment steps, and most of them were found in effluent water. These data provide new insights into the possible impacts of wastewater-derived MPs on the environment. MP-associated biofilms were proved to be important sources of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant genes in natural waters.
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Researchers tracked how microbial communities colonize plastic beads as they travel through different stages of a wastewater treatment plant. They found that distinct bacterial communities selectively attached to the plastic surfaces at each treatment stage, differing from the microbes in the surrounding water. The study reveals that microplastics passing through wastewater systems accumulate unique microbial hitchhikers that could carry pathogens or antibiotic-resistant bacteria into the environment.
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This review examines how different microorganisms colonize microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plants, forming communities called biofilms that change as the treatment process progresses. These biofilms can include harmful bacteria and antibiotic-resistant organisms that ride on microplastics through the treatment process and into the environment. The findings are concerning because microplastics leaving treatment plants could carry disease-causing microbes into waterways used for drinking and recreation.
Microplastic biofilms in water treatment systems: Fate and risks of pathogenic bacteria, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes
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This review examines how microplastics in drinking water and wastewater treatment plants develop biofilms that harbor dangerous bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. The biofilm-coated microplastics can protect pathogens from disinfection processes, allowing them to survive treatment and potentially reach tap water. This raises concerns about microplastics serving as vehicles for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our water supply.
Antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in the plastisphere in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Health risk quantification and driving mechanism interpretation
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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.
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