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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Fibrous and FragmentedMicroplastics Discharged fromSewage Amplify Health Risks Associated with Antibiotic ResistanceGenes in Aquatic Environments
ClearFibrous and Fragmented Microplastics Discharged from Sewage Amplify Health Risks Associated with Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Aquatic Environments
Researchers found that microplastics discharged from sewage treatment plants act as carriers for antibiotic resistance genes in waterways, with fiber and fragment shapes being especially effective at picking up and spreading drug-resistant bacteria. The sewage discharge significantly increased the levels of these dangerous gene-plastic combinations in receiving waters. This is a public health concern because microplastics could help spread antibiotic resistance through water systems that people rely on.
Fragmented Microplastics Synergize with Biological Treatment To Potentiate Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination during Sewage Treatment
Researchers used metagenomic sequencing and high-throughput qPCR across a full sewage treatment chain to show that fragmented microplastics preferentially concentrate clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes, with MP-bound genes contributing up to 43% of intracellular resistance genes detected in treated effluent, and Acinetobacter emerging as a key resistance indicator.
Antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in the plastisphere in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Health risk quantification and driving mechanism interpretation
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.
Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters
Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.
Metagenomic insights into ecological risk of antibiotic resistome and mobilome in riverine plastisphere under impact of urbanization
This study used advanced genetic sequencing to examine antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics found in an urban river. Microplastics harbored more antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements than natural materials like rocks and wood, and the problem was worse in more urbanized areas. The findings suggest that microplastics in waterways can act as hotspots for spreading antibiotic resistance, which is a growing public health threat.
Quantifying health risks of plastisphere antibiotic resistome and deciphering driving mechanisms in an urbanizing watershed
This study measured the health risks posed by antibiotic resistance genes found on microplastic surfaces in a watershed affected by urbanization. Polyethylene microplastics carried the highest risk, and urban development increased the danger by promoting the spread of resistance genes among bacteria living on plastic surfaces. The findings show that microplastics in waterways act as vehicles for antibiotic resistance, which could make infections harder to treat in communities downstream.
Biodegradable and conventional microplastics as vectors of extracellular ARGs in WWTP effluents: Mechanistic and differential global health risk
Researchers characterized extracellular antibiotic resistance genes bound to biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluents, finding mechanistic differences in how each plastic type associates with resistance gene-carrying DNA and estimating resulting global health risks.
Evaluating the role of microplastics and wastewater in shaping Vibrio spp. and antibiotic resistance gene abundance in urban freshwaters
Researchers sampled water and microplastic biofilms from urban South African rivers and found that microplastics disproportionately enriched Vibrio spp. and tetracycline resistance genes relative to the surrounding water, suggesting microplastics selectively concentrate pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.
[Microplastics-Induced Shifts of Diversity and Abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in River Water].
This Chinese study used high-throughput quantitative PCR to measure how different microplastic types affect the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in river water. Polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics both increased the overall abundance of resistance genes, supporting concerns that microplastics act as reservoirs and spreaders of antibiotic resistance in freshwater systems.
Metagenomic insights into environmental risk of field microplastics in an urban river
Metagenomic analysis of microplastics sampled along an urban river watershed revealed that MP-associated microbial communities carried antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors at higher levels than surrounding water, with composition shifting along the river gradient. The findings confirm microplastics as environmental vectors for spreading antimicrobial resistance.
Underestimated Risks of Microplastics on the Environmental Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Researchers highlight how microplastics in aquatic environments can accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, a risk that current assessment methods may significantly underestimate. Biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces create conditions where bacteria are in close contact, facilitating the transfer of resistance genes between species. The study argues that standard microplastic detection methods miss many small particles, meaning the true scope of this resistance-spreading pathway is likely much larger than reported.
Decoding the microplastic Micro-interface: a complex Web of gene transfer and pathogenic threats in wastewater
Researchers used metagenomics to study how microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment systems serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria. They found that microplastic micro-interfaces supported more robust microbial networks and facilitated horizontal gene transfer of resistance and virulence genes more actively than surrounding environments. The study suggests that microplastics in wastewater may accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance and increase pathogenicity risks.
Enhanced propagation of intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater by microplastics
Researchers investigated how microplastics in municipal wastewater can carry and promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, including those found both inside and outside bacterial cells. They found that microplastics adsorbed both types of resistance genes and enhanced their transfer between bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. The study reveals that microplastics in wastewater systems may act as an underappreciated accelerator of antibiotic resistance spread.
Unraveling the role of microplastics in antibiotic resistance: Insights from long-read metagenomics on ARG mobility and host dynamics
Researchers used long-read metagenomics to investigate how microplastics serve as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments. They found that plasmid-encoded resistance genes varied significantly between microplastic biofilms and surrounding water, highlighting horizontal gene transfer as a key mechanism for resistance gene enrichment on plastic surfaces. The study identified specific bacterial taxa driving this enrichment and revealed that enhanced cell adhesion and transporter activity on microplastics facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Microplastics can selectively enrich intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistant genes and shape different microbial communities in aquatic systems
Researchers examined how microplastics of different types selectively capture antibiotic resistance genes and shape microbial communities in aquatic systems. They found that microplastics enriched both intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes, with the enrichment patterns varying by plastic type. The study suggests that microplastics may serve as hotspots for the spread of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater and natural water environments.
Microplastics shape microbial interactions and affect the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in different full-scale wastewater treatment plants
A study of three full-scale wastewater treatment plants found that microplastics were associated with increased spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with microplastic surfaces appearing to facilitate microbial interactions that promote ARG transfer. This is a significant public health concern because wastewater plants that fail to fully remove microplastics may also be inadvertently accelerating the dissemination of antibiotic resistance into receiving waterways.
Microplastics exhibit accumulation and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes
Researchers investigated whether microplastics in wastewater treatment plants can accumulate and spread antibiotic resistance genes. They found that bacteria growing on microplastic surfaces in treatment tanks harbored antibiotic resistance genes and transferred them at higher rates than bacteria in the surrounding water. This suggests microplastics in wastewater systems may serve as hotspots for spreading antibiotic resistance, posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health.
Microplastics Enhance the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Sludge Digestion by Enriching Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Surface Biofilm and Facilitating the Vertical and Horizontal Gene Transfer
This study found that microplastics in sewage sludge promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, which make bacteria harder to treat with antibiotics. Microplastics provided a surface for resistant bacteria to grow and helped them share resistance genes with other bacteria. The more microplastics present, the more antibiotic resistance spread, raising concerns about how plastic pollution in wastewater could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.
Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance: The Magnitude of the Problem and the Emerging Role of Hospital Wastewater
This review examines how microplastics in water can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and spread resistance genes, especially through hospital wastewater. Microplastics provide a surface where bacteria easily form colonies and share resistance genes, creating a potential threat to human health. The authors call for better wastewater management to reduce this emerging risk.
Size effects of microplastics on antibiotic resistome and core microbiome in an urban river
Scientists found that microplastics in an urban river serve as platforms for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and dangerous pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Legionella pneumophila. Larger microplastic particles harbored more antibiotic resistance genes, and the concentrations of these genes were much higher on plastic surfaces than in the surrounding water. This research raises concerns that microplastics in waterways could spread drug-resistant infections by providing a surface where dangerous bacteria thrive and share resistance genes.
Microplastisphere may induce the enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
This first meta-analysis of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) enrichment on microplastics found that ARGs were more abundant on microplastic surfaces than on inorganic substrates or in surrounding water, but less abundant than on natural organic substrates. Freshwater microplastics showed a higher degree of ARG enrichment than those in saline water or sewage.
Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge on the antibiotic resistome in downstream aquatic environments: a mini review
This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants release antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes into rivers and lakes through their treated water. Current treatment processes cannot fully remove these resistance factors, allowing them to spread in downstream water bodies and potentially reach humans through drinking water and the food chain. The review is relevant to microplastics research because microplastics in wastewater can serve as surfaces where resistant bacteria grow and spread.
Metagenomic Analysis Reveals the Effects of Microplastics on Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Sludge Anaerobic Digestion
Researchers used metagenomic analysis to study how microplastics in sewage sludge affect the spread of antibiotic resistance genes during anaerobic digestion. They found that microplastics increased antibiotic resistance gene levels by up to 30 percent, with polyethylene having the strongest effect, and also boosted the mobile genetic elements that help resistance genes spread between bacteria. The findings raise concerns about microplastics facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistance through wastewater treatment systems.
Effect of microplastics concentration and size on pollutants removal and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) generation in constructed wetlands: A metagenomics insight
Microplastics in constructed wetlands used for wastewater treatment reduced the removal of nitrogen, phosphorus, and antibiotics while promoting the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. This means microplastic contamination could undermine water treatment systems and contribute to the growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which poses a significant threat to public health.