Papers

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Article Tier 2

Comparison of Antibiotic Resistance of Escherichia coli Populations from Water or Sediment in Rivers Environments

This study compared antibiotic-resistant E. coli in river water and sediment, examining how bacteria form biofilms and stabilize resistance in these environments. Microplastics in aquatic environments are known to promote biofilm formation and concentrate antibiotic resistance genes, amplifying this public health concern.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Regulation of ARGs abundance by biofilm colonization on microplastics under selective pressure of antibiotics in river water environment

Researchers investigated how biofilms forming on microplastics in river water affect the spread of antibiotic resistance genes under antibiotic pressure. They found that the presence of antibiotics accelerated biofilm colonization on microplastic surfaces and significantly increased the abundance of resistance genes compared to conditions without antibiotics. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways may serve as hotspots for the development and transfer of antibiotic resistance.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 30 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental Pollution 58 citations
Article Tier 2

MicroplasticsPose an Elevated Antimicrobial ResistanceRisk Than Natural Surfaces via a Systematic Comparative Study of SurfaceBiofilms in Rivers

A systematic comparison of biofilms on microplastics and natural river surfaces found that microplastic biofilms carry significantly higher loads of antimicrobial resistance genes, suggesting that microplastics amplify antimicrobial resistance risks beyond what natural substrate biofilms produce.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Pose an Elevated Antimicrobial Resistance Risk Than Natural Surfaces via a Systematic Comparative Study of Surface Biofilms in Rivers

A systematic comparison of biofilms on microplastics versus natural surfaces like wood and rock in rivers found that microplastics harbor 10 times more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The microplastics' water-repelling surface properties encourage the growth of drug-resistant pathogens and the accumulation of resistance genes. This finding is concerning because microplastics flowing through waterways could be spreading antibiotic resistance, which is a major threat to global public health.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria contamination in a river of central Italy

Researchers sampled a river in central Italy for both microplastics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, finding polyethylene as the dominant polymer at over 60 percent of detected plastic debris. The study found a high rate of multidrug resistance among isolated bacteria, suggesting that the co-occurrence of microplastics and resistant bacteria in river water may amplify the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance.

2026 Frontiers in Freshwater Science
Article Tier 2

Impact of Urbanization on Antibiotic Resistome in Different Microplastics: Evidence from a Large-Scale Whole River Analysis

Researchers conducted a large-scale river survey across urbanization gradients and characterized antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics from each zone, finding that urbanization level strongly predicted the diversity and abundance of resistance genes on plastic surfaces.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 100 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Water Research 313 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Scientific Reports 11 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Water Research 678 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Scientific Reports
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 31 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Environmental Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-course biofilm formation and presence of antibiotic resistance genes on everyday plastic items deployed in river waters

Researchers tracked biofilm formation on everyday plastic items deployed in a river over one year, finding that sampling site (reflecting level of human impact) was the strongest driver of microbial diversity, and that antibiotic resistance genes were present on plastic surfaces throughout.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Water Research 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Selectively enrichment of antibiotics and ARGs by microplastics in river, estuary and marine waters

Researchers investigated how microplastics interact with antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes across river, estuary, and marine environments of varying salinity. They found that microplastics can concentrate both antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from surrounding water, with this enrichment effect being strongest in freshwater and decreasing as salinity increases. The study raises concerns that microplastics may serve as vehicles for spreading antibiotic resistance in aquatic ecosystems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 210 citations
Article Tier 2

On the Generation, Impact and Removal of Antibiotic Resistance in the Water Environment

This review explains how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads through water environments — including rivers, groundwater, and wastewater. The findings are relevant to microplastics because plastic particles in water are known to accumulate antibiotic-resistant bacteria, potentially accelerating the spread of drug resistance through aquatic systems.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Environment International 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of sulfamethoxazole on a riverine microbiome

Scientists studied how the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole affects the microbial community in a river, finding that even low concentrations shifted the balance of bacteria and promoted antibiotic resistance genes. This is relevant to the microplastic field because both antibiotics and microplastics promote antibiotic resistance when they co-occur in aquatic environments.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater discharges and polymer type modulate the riverine plastisphere and set the role of microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antibiotic resistance

Researchers investigated how wastewater treatment plant discharges and polymer type shape microbial communities on microplastics in a river environment. They found that microplastics harbored significantly higher microbial diversity than surrounding water, and that wastewater discharges led to a 2.3-fold increase in antibiotic resistance gene abundance on the plastic surfaces. Different polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET, each attracted distinct microbial communities with varying levels of pathogens and resistance genes.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Dynamic evolution of antibiotic resistance genes in plastisphere in the vertical profile of urban rivers

This study found that microplastics floating at different depths in urban rivers act as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes, which help bacteria survive antibiotic treatment. The type of plastic matters: biodegradable plastics like PLA harbored more resistance genes than conventional PET plastic. This is concerning because microplastics in waterways could help spread drug-resistant bacteria that eventually reach human water supplies.

2023 Water Research 35 citations