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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Emerging Issues on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Colonizing Plastic Waste in Aquatic Ecosystems
ClearAntibiotic 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.
Microplastics accumulate priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens: Evidence from the riverine plastisphere
Researchers placed microplastics in river water and found they accumulated more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than natural sand particles, including dangerous pathogens like E. coli and Klebsiella. Most of the bacteria isolated from the plastic surfaces were multi-drug resistant and carried virulence traits like biofilm formation. This suggests microplastics in waterways may act as rafts for spreading antibiotic resistance through the environment.
Hidden threats in the plastisphere: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales colonizing microplastics in river water
Researchers placed microplastics in a river near a wastewater treatment plant and found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including dangerous carbapenem-resistant strains, colonized the plastic surfaces. These bacteria carried multiple drug-resistance genes and virulence traits, making them potential threats to human health. The study demonstrates that microplastics in waterways can serve as floating platforms that help spread antibiotic-resistant superbugs from wastewater into the broader environment.
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.
Assessment of Emerging Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Biofilm of Microplastics Incubated Under a Wastewater Discharge Simulation
Researchers incubated common plastic types in flowing water that simulated wastewater discharge conditions for 10 weeks and studied the bacteria that colonized the plastic surfaces. They found that microplastics exposed to treated wastewater developed distinct bacterial communities compared to those in clean river water, including emerging pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways receiving wastewater may serve as mobile platforms for spreading harmful bacteria and antibiotic resistance in the environment.
Biofilm formation on microplastics and interactions with antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in aquatic environment
This review explains how microplastics in waterways develop bacterial biofilms on their surfaces that can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and help spread antibiotic resistance genes to new environments. This is concerning for human health because these resistant microbes could eventually reach people through drinking water or seafood consumption.
Bacterial biofilms colonizing plastics in estuarine waters, with an emphasis on Vibrio spp. and their antibacterial resistance
Scientists characterized bacterial biofilms colonizing plastic debris in estuarine waters, finding that plastics host distinct communities including Vibrio species with elevated antibiotic resistance compared to surrounding water.
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.
Exploiting microplastics and the plastisphere for the surveillance of human pathogenic bacteria discharged into surface waters in wastewater effluent
Researchers placed small plastic particles in rivers upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant and found that disease-causing bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella, quickly formed biofilms on them within 24 hours. These biofilms carried antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors, showing that microplastics in waterways can serve as floating platforms for dangerous bacteria that pose risks to human health.
Increasing microplastics pollution: An emerging vector for potentially pathogenic bacteria in the environment
Researchers collected microplastics from a river basin in Turkey and found that disease-causing bacteria, including Salmonella, E. coli, and Staphylococcus, readily form colonies on plastic particle surfaces. This means microplastics floating in water can act as tiny rafts carrying harmful bacteria, potentially increasing infection risks when contaminated water is used for drinking or recreation.
Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview
Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.
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.
Marine Plastics from Norwegian West Coast Carry Potentially Virulent Fish Pathogens and Opportunistic Human Pathogens Harboring New Variants of Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Researchers isolated 37 bacterial strains from marine plastic polymers on Norway's west coast and used whole-genome sequencing to identify potential fish pathogens and opportunistic human pathogens carrying novel antibiotic resistance genes.
Evidence of interspecific plasmid uptake by pathogenic strains of Klebsiella isolated from microplastic pollution on public beaches
Researchers collected microplastic beads from public beaches and found them colonized by pathogenic strains of Klebsiella bacteria carrying antimicrobial resistance genes. They demonstrated that these bacteria could take up plasmids from other species, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance. The findings suggest that microplastics on beaches may serve as hotspots where dangerous bacteria exchange genetic material that makes them harder to treat.
Antibiotic resistance in plastisphere
Researchers reviewed antibiotic resistance in the plastisphere — the microbial community colonizing plastic surfaces in aquatic environments — finding that plastic properties and aging influence the enrichment and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, and that aged microplastics pose elevated risks due to increased adsorption of resistant bacteria.
Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents
Researchers studied antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in biofilms on microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The study found that microplastic biofilms accumulated antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Bacillus, and that these biofilms harbored higher concentrations of resistance genes compared to surrounding water, suggesting microplastics may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance.
Emerging Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Aquatic Ecosystems: a Review
A review of 30 studies found antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) widely distributed across aquatic ecosystems — in surface water, groundwater, wastewater, and notably on plastic and microplastic debris in these environments. Microplastics appear to provide favorable surfaces for the growth and exchange of resistant bacteria, making plastic pollution a potential vector for spreading antibiotic resistance. The findings highlight an understudied intersection between microplastic contamination and the global antibiotic resistance crisis.
Presence of microplastic particles increased abundance of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes in microbial communities from the Oder river water and sediment
Researchers incubated microplastic particles in water from the Oder River and found that bacteria growing on the plastic surfaces had significantly higher levels of disease-causing organisms and antibiotic resistance genes compared to surrounding water. This suggests that microplastics in rivers and waterways serve as platforms that concentrate harmful bacteria and help spread drug resistance, posing risks to communities that depend on these water sources.
Selective enrichment of bacterial pathogens by microplastic biofilm
Researchers incubated biofilms on microplastics and natural substrates in freshwater and found that microplastic surfaces selectively enriched bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes compared to rock and leaf surfaces. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways may serve as hotspots for harmful bacteria and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment.
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.
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.
The Travelling Particles: Investigating microplastics as possible transport vectors for multidrug resistant E. coli in the Weser estuary (Germany)
Scientists tested whether microplastics in the Weser estuary in Germany carry multidrug-resistant ESBL-producing E. coli, finding resistant bacteria on plastic surfaces at concentrations above surrounding water, confirming that microplastics can serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Marine plastisphere selectively enriches microbial assemblages and antibiotic resistance genes during long-term cultivation periods
Researchers placed four types of common microplastics in a marine environment for over 100 days and found that bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance genes accumulated on the plastic surfaces over time. PVC microplastics were particularly effective at concentrating resistance genes, and a key gene-transfer element was found on all plastic types. These results show that microplastics floating in the ocean act as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could eventually reach humans through seafood or water.
Evidence of selective enrichment of bacterial assemblages and antibiotic resistant genes by microplastics in urban rivers
Researchers sampled microplastics from two urban rivers in China and found that the bacterial communities colonizing plastic particles were distinctly different from those in the surrounding water. The microplastic-associated bacteria had lower diversity but higher proportions of biofilm-forming species and functions linked to human disease. Notably, the study found that microplastics selectively enriched antibiotic resistance genes, raising concerns about plastics serving as reservoirs for drug-resistant bacteria.