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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Environmental Sources Human Health Effects Sign in to save

Potential planetary health impacts of the airborne plastisphere

One Earth 2025 4 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Changchao Li, Ling Jin, Michael S. Bank, Chunlan Fan, Michael R. Gillings, Tingting Zhao, Yong Han, T. Chen, Meng Gao, Dong Zhu, Qing‐Lin Chen, Guibing Zhu, Jie Wang, Lei Wang, Jian Liu, Xian-Zheng Yuan, Qishen Huang, Xiaofei Wang, Annika Jahnke, Janice Brahney, Steve Allen, Hans Peter H. Arp, Sonja Oberbeckmann, Melanie Bergmann, Stephen B. Pointing, Daizhou Zhang, Matthias C. Rillig

Summary

Researchers reviewed emerging evidence that airborne microplastics can carry and transport living microorganisms — including potential pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria — across long distances through the atmosphere, identifying this as an overlooked global health threat that bridges pollution and infectious disease.

Plastics interact with microorganisms in ways that can profoundly affect ecosystems and human health. Despite their global atmospheric presence, microplastic-microbe interactions in air and their planetary health ramifications remain poorly understood. In this review, by synthesizing emerging evidence, we show that airborne microplastics could carry and sustain microorganisms over long distances and timescales, potentially dispersing pathogens, antibiotic-resistance genes, and other bioactive agents across ecosystems—highlighting an overlooked, multisector planetary health threat and research agenda.

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