Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on oxytetracycline trophic transfer: Immune, gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance gene responses

When polypropylene microplastics and the antibiotic oxytetracycline were present together in water, the microplastics acted as carriers that increased antibiotic buildup in shrimp and fish through the food chain. This combination caused more gut and liver damage, weakened immune defenses, and promoted the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The findings highlight that microplastics can make antibiotic pollution worse by helping resistant genes move up the food chain.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-mediated antibiotic migration and bioaccumulation in aquaculture: Implications for seafood safety

This study examined whether microplastics in aquaculture water absorb antibiotics and then increase the amount of those drugs that accumulate in shrimp tissue, finding that shrimp exposed to antibiotic-loaded polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics had higher antibiotic concentrations in their bodies than shrimp exposed to antibiotics alone. Smaller microplastic particles adsorbed less antibiotic, and aged plastics bound more. The findings suggest that microplastics in fish farms create an indirect pathway for antibiotic accumulation in seafood beyond what direct water exposure would produce.

2026 Food Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Polyvinyl chloride microplastics facilitated the transmission of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from surrounding water to Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers investigated how PVC microplastics colonized by a harmful bacterium called Vibrio parahaemolyticus affect farmed shrimp. They found that the microplastics facilitated the transfer of the pathogen from the surrounding water into the shrimp, causing severe damage to the hepatopancreas and 100% mortality within 96 hours. The study reveals that microplastics in aquaculture environments can act as vehicles for disease-causing bacteria, posing serious risks to shrimp farming.

2025 Food Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and nanoplastics in shrimp: Mechanisms of plastic particle and contaminant distribution and subsequent effects after uptake

This review summarizes how microplastics and nanoplastics affect shrimp, which are an important food source for humans. The tiny plastic particles can carry harmful chemicals and pathogens into shrimp tissue, which then move up the food chain when people eat contaminated seafood. The findings highlight concerns about plastic pollution in aquaculture and its indirect effects on human health through the food we eat.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Mediated Transfer of Tetracycline Resistance: Unveiling the Role of Mussels in Marine Ecosystems

Researchers found that microplastics can serve as platforms for antibiotic-resistant bacteria to form biofilms in marine environments, facilitating the transfer of resistance genes. In experiments with mussels, polyethylene microplastics significantly increased the rate at which tetracycline resistance genes spread between bacteria. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution in the ocean could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance, with implications for both ecosystem and public health.

2024 Antibiotics 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on oxytetracycline trophic transfer: Immune, gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance gene responses

Researchers studied how polypropylene microplastics affect the trophic transfer of oxytetracycline from shrimp to crucian carp in an experimental food chain, then assessed immune responses, gut microbiota changes, and antibiotic resistance gene abundance. PP microplastics acted as carriers that enhanced antibiotic transfer, suppressed immune function in fish, and enriched antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiome.

2025
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance of bacteria isolated from Pagellus erythrinus microplastics and public health

Researchers examined microplastics found in the gastrointestinal tract and gills of a commercial Mediterranean fish (Pagellus erythrinus) and found bacteria with antibiotic resistance genes attached to the plastic surfaces. The findings suggest microplastics may serve as a vector for spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the food chain when humans consume contaminated seafood.

2020 European Journal of Public Health
Article Tier 2

In Vitro Investigation of the Colonization of Microplastic Surfaces by Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers investigated how Vibrio parahaemolyticus -- a shrimp pathogen -- colonizes microplastic surfaces in the context of shrimp aquaculture, using in vitro methods. Microplastic surfaces supported Vibrio biofilm formation and could serve as vectors carrying this pathogen into shrimp farms, posing food safety and aquaculture health risks.

2024 The Philippine journal of science
Article Tier 2

Isolation and Analysis of Microplastics in Vaname Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) at Tanjung Luar Fish Landing Base, East Lombok Regency

Researchers isolated and analyzed microplastics from vaname shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) collected at Tanjung Luar fish landing base in East Lombok, Indonesia. Microplastics were detected in shrimp digestive systems, raising food safety concerns given the direct pathway to human consumption through seafood.

2024 JURNAL BIOLOGI TROPIS
Article Tier 2

Combined Vibrio and nanoplastics stress promotes nanoplastic accumulation while reducing bacterial lethality in shrimp

Researchers discovered that Vibrio bacteria act as carriers for nanoplastics in shrimp, ferrying the tiny particles through the gut wall and concentrating them in organs, but interestingly the nanoplastics also weakened the bacteria's ability to cause infection, showing that plastic-pathogen interactions in seafood are complex and two-directional.

2026 npj Science of Food
Article Tier 2

The nexus of microplastics, food and antimicrobial resistance in the context of aquatic environment: Interdisciplinary linkages of pathways

This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces where bacteria can grow, share antibiotic resistance genes, and then enter the food chain through contaminated seafood. The combination of microplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance creates a compounding threat, as resistant bacteria riding on plastic particles can survive water treatment and reach humans. The authors call for interdisciplinary research connecting environmental science and public health to address this growing risk.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial gene exchange on microplastic particles

This study examined how microplastic particles in aquatic environments facilitate the exchange of genetic material between bacteria, including potentially pathogenic or antibiotic-resistant strains. The findings suggest that microplastics could accelerate the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in aquatic ecosystems, which has implications for human health.

2018 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Microplastic Contamination of Whiteleg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) Cultivation in North Lombok, Indonesia

Researchers characterized microplastic contamination in farmed whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), measuring particle abundance, size distribution, polymer types, and potential human dietary exposure through shrimp consumption. Microplastics were found throughout shrimp tissues, with implications for seafood safety.

2024 Journal of Fish Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics weaken the exoskeletal mechanical properties of Pacific whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Researchers discovered that environmentally realistic levels of microplastics weakened the shells of whiteleg shrimp by disrupting the structure of chitin, the main building material in crustacean exoskeletons. The microplastics also embedded in the shell surface and altered key genes and metabolites involved in shell formation. Since shrimp is a widely consumed seafood, this finding raises questions about both the quality of farmed shrimp and the potential for microplastic transfer to human consumers.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistant bacteria colonising microplastics in the aquatic environment: An emerging challenge

Researchers reviewed how microplastics in aquatic environments act as surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can grow and swap resistance genes with each other, raising concern that contaminated seafood and water could transfer these hard-to-treat bacteria to humans.

2024 Discover Sustainability 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the immune and microbial response of the white-leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei to microplastics

Researchers exposed white-leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) to different concentrations of microplastics for 48 hours and measured immune and microbial responses. The study found that high microplastic concentrations significantly reduced survival rates, altered immune-related gene expression, and disrupted the gut microbial community, suggesting that microplastic pollution may compromise shrimp immune function.

2021 Marine Environmental Research 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Promotion of antibiotic-resistant genes dissemination by the micro/nanoplastics in the gut of snail Achatina fulica

Researchers studied how micro- and nanoplastics affect the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the gut of edible snails. They found that smaller plastic particles at higher concentrations significantly promoted the transfer of resistance genes between bacteria through conjugation. The study suggests that plastic contamination in food animals could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance, which is a growing public health concern.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of aged microplastics on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in oysters and their excreta

Researchers studied how aged microplastics affect the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in oysters and their excreta. The study found that microplastics can serve as carriers for antibiotic resistance genes in filter-feeding organisms, potentially exacerbating the spread of antibiotic resistance in aquaculture environments where plastic contamination is widespread.

2025 Marine Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Enrichment of Antibiotic Resistance Genes on Plastic Waste in Aquatic Ecosystems, Aquatic Animals, and Fishery Products

This review examines how plastic waste in water creates surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive and share resistance genes with each other. Microplastics in rivers, oceans, and fish farms were consistently found to harbor more antibiotic resistance genes than natural materials like rocks or sand. Since fish and shellfish can accumulate these microplastic-associated resistant bacteria, there is a risk that drug-resistant infections could reach humans through the seafood supply chain.

2025 Antibiotics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in surface water and tissue of white leg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, in a cultured pond in Nakhon Pathom Province, Central Thailand

Researchers detected microplastics in the surface water and edible tissues of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farmed in Thailand, raising food safety concerns about microplastic contamination in a commercially important aquaculture species consumed widely across Asia.

2023 AIMS environmental science 14 citations