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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics shape microbial interactions and affect the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in different full-scale wastewater treatment plants
ClearMicroplastics 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.
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.
Alteration of the migration trajectory of antibiotic resistance genes by microplastics in a leachate activated sludge system
This study found that microplastics in wastewater treatment systems actively promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by acting as a surface for resistant bacteria to colonise and as a vehicle that carries those genes from sludge into the liquid effluent. Adding microplastics to a leachate treatment system increased tetracycline resistance gene abundance and made them harder to eliminate. This matters because wastewater treatment plants are a critical barrier against antibiotic resistance spreading into the environment and ultimately into human communities.
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.
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.
From Interface to Cell: The Complex Interaction and Transfer Process Coupling Mechanism between Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Researchers examined how microplastic surfaces act as vectors for spreading antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment systems. The study found that aged microplastics of PET, PE, and PP promoted bacterial adhesion, enhanced horizontal gene transfer, and triggered overproduction of reactive oxygen species, ultimately amplifying the spread of antimicrobial resistance through multiple molecular mechanisms.
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.
The Role of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance: Source, Measurement, Removal and Risk Assessment
This review examines how wastewater treatment plants handle antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes, finding that current treatment processes do not fully remove them. Different levels of treatment show varying removal rates, and resistant bacteria can still be found in treated water released into the environment. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because microplastics in wastewater can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria into waterways.
Research progress on the origin, fate, impacts and harm of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants
This review explores how microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes interact in wastewater treatment plants, where they can survive treatment and enter the environment together. The concern for human health is that these contaminants can travel through the food chain, potentially increasing illness from antibiotic-resistant infections.
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.
Interactions of microplastics, antibiotics and antibiotic resistant genes within WWTPs
This review examined the interactions between microplastics, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes within wastewater treatment plants, analyzing how MPs serve as carriers for antimicrobial compounds and facilitate the spread of resistance in microbial communities.
Size-dependent effects of microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes fate in wastewater treatment systems: The role of changed surface property and microbial assemblages in a continuous exposure mode
Researchers developed a continuous exposure method to evaluate how different sizes of microplastics affect antibiotic resistance gene fate in wastewater treatment, finding that smaller microplastics had greater impacts on microbial communities and resistance gene proliferation.
Microplastics as hubs enriching antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens in municipal activated sludge
Researchers demonstrated that microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants act as "hubs," selectively concentrating antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens in their surface biofilms, with antibiotic-resistance genes enriched up to 4.5-fold compared to sand particles — raising concerns about microplastics spreading drug-resistant microbes into the environment.
Fibrous 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.
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.
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.
The impact of various microplastics on bacterial community and antimicrobial resistance genes in Norwegian and South African wastewater
Researchers investigated how various microplastic types affect bacterial community composition and antimicrobial resistance gene prevalence in wastewater treatment plants in Norway and South Africa, examining whether plastic debris promotes antimicrobial resistance dissemination.
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.
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.
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.