We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Unraveling the combined impacts of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics and the ciprofloxacin antibiotic on sediment microbial communities and ecological functions
Summary
Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics — both fresh and environmentally weathered — interact with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin to affect the microbial communities living in aquatic sediments. They found that microplastics, especially in combination with the antibiotic, disrupted microbial community structure and simplified the ecological networks that microbes rely on for stable functioning. This is concerning because healthy sediment microbe communities underpin nutrient cycling and ecosystem health, and their disruption by combined plastic-antibiotic pollution could have cascading effects.
Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics are pervasive pollutants in aquatic environments. However, the combined effects of aged MPs and antibiotics on ecological systems remain unclear. Through 16S rRNA sequencing, we confirmed that polyethylene microplastics (PE) and the ciprofloxacin antibiotic (CIP) significantly altered sediment microbial community structure and ecological function. Except for the sole addition of CIP, introducing single PE or combined contaminant treatments resulted in varying reductions in the edges, nodes, and average degree of the single-factor correlation network (1.52 %-18.83 %), ultimately destabilizing microbial communities through network simplification. This reduction in network complexity indicated that PE had a major impact on disrupting microbial interactions and community structure in combined pollution scenarios. Based on functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa analysis, PE and CIP were shown to significantly affect the Carbon-Nitrogen (C-N) cycle (p < 0.05), and combined contamination mitigated nitrogen cycle-related functions. In addition, ultraviolet-aged PE (p < 0.05) and CIP (p < 0.01), as well as key environmental factors pH (p < 0.01) and total nitrogen (p < 0.05), significantly affected the sediment community structure (p < 0.001). Our study can aid in exploring and assessing the combined risks of emerging contaminants.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Effects of co-loading of polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin on the antibiotic degradation efficiency and microbial community structure in soil
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin together affect soil microbial communities and antibiotic degradation. The study found that co-loading of microplastics with antibiotics altered microbial community structure and affected the rate of antibiotic degradation in soil, suggesting microplastic contamination may influence how soils process pharmaceutical pollutants.
The co-presence of polystyrene nanoplastics and ofloxacin demonstrates combined effects on the structure, assembly, and metabolic activities of marine microbial community
Researchers examined the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic ofloxacin on marine microbial communities. They found that the two pollutants together had a greater impact on bacterial community structure and metabolic activity than either one alone. The study suggests that nanoplastics and antibiotics co-occurring in the ocean may work together to disrupt the microorganisms that support marine ecosystem health.
Metagenomic and metabolomic insight into microplastic-derived inhibition of tetracycline degradation in sediments
Microplastics in aquatic sediments don't just sit there — this study found they actively interfere with the natural microbial processes that break down antibiotic compounds like tetracycline. By combining field sampling with lab experiments, researchers showed that microplastics disrupt the microbial communities responsible for tetracycline degradation, potentially allowing antibiotics to persist longer in the environment. This interaction between microplastics and antibiotic persistence is a concern for both ecosystem health and the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Aged microplastics enhance their interaction with ciprofloxacin and joint toxicity on Escherichia coli
Researchers found that aged microplastics showed enhanced adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin compared to pristine particles, and that their combined exposure produced greater toxicity to E. coli at the molecular level than either pollutant alone.
Metagenomics reveals combined effects of microplastics and antibiotics on microbial community structure and function in coastal sediments
A metagenomic study of coastal sediments exposed to combined microplastic and antibiotic pollution found that co-exposure altered microbial community composition and significantly elevated the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes compared to either pollutant alone.