Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

[Effects of Microplastics on Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Estuarine Sediments].

Researchers investigated the effects of three types of microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in estuarine sediment microcosms, finding that microplastic presence altered the persistence, abundance, and diversity of ARGs as measured by high-throughput quantitative PCR.

2019 PubMed 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of the surrounding environment on antibiotic resistance genes carried by microplastics in mangroves

Researchers buried five plastic types in mangrove ecosystems with different surrounding environments and used qPCR to quantify antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) on the plastic surfaces, finding higher ARG abundance in urban mangroves than in protected or aquaculture areas. Polypropylene and HDPE were preferred substrates for ARG-carrying bacteria, and proximity to human activities was the main driver of ARG distribution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics accumulation in mangroves increasing the resistance of its colonization Vibrio and Shewanella

Researchers found that microplastics accumulating in mangrove sediments harbored antibiotic-resistant bacteria, predominantly Vibrio parahemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus, and Shewanella, with 100% of mangrove isolates showing elevated resistance. The study highlights microplastics as ecological colonization sites that may amplify antibiotic resistance risks in coastal ecosystems.

2022 Chemosphere 24 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 PLoS ONE 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of tidal action on the stability of microbiota, antibiotic resistance genes, and microplastics in the Pearl River Estuary, Guangzhou, China

Researchers used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to study microbial diversity and the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes and microplastics in the Pearl River Estuary across areas with different land uses. The study found that tidal action influenced the stability and distribution of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes, with different land use types showing distinct patterns of contamination.

2023 Chemosphere 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of microplastics, antibiotic resistant genes and microplastic associated biofilms in estuary - A review

This review examined evidence for microplastics, antibiotic resistance genes, and microplastic-associated biofilms in estuarine ecosystems. Microplastics in estuaries serve as substrates for diverse microbial biofilms including pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and estuaries are identified as important reservoirs for microplastic-facilitated horizontal gene transfer.

2022 Environmental Engineering Research 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Mangrove plastisphere as a hotspot for high-risk antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens

This study found that microplastics in mangrove ecosystems serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes and disease-causing bacteria. Polyethylene, polystyrene, and PVC surfaces incubated in mangrove sediments harbored significantly more high-risk resistance genes than the surrounding environment. This is concerning because mangroves are important coastal habitats, and microplastics there could help spread drug-resistant infections to wildlife and potentially to humans.

2025 Environmental Research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

[Research progress on the effect of estuary microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes].

This review summarizes research on how microplastics in estuarine environments influence the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), focusing on the role of biofilms that form on plastic surfaces. Microplastic biofilms selectively enrich ARG-carrying bacteria and facilitate horizontal gene transfer, increasing the risk of antibiotic resistance dissemination in ecologically and humanly important estuarine zones.

2024 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Metagenomics reveals combined effects of microplastics and antibiotics on microbial community structure and function in coastal sediments

A metagenomic study of coastal sediments exposed to combined microplastic and antibiotic pollution found that co-exposure altered microbial community composition and significantly elevated the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes compared to either pollutant alone.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial diversity and potential pathogens associated with the plastisphere on beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Researchers analyzed the microbes living on plastic debris collected from beaches in Rio de Janeiro, finding that both polypropylene and polyethylene plastics harbored communities containing potential human and marine pathogens as well as bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes. The study confirms that ocean plastics can transport dangerous microorganisms across long distances, posing risks to human health and marine biodiversity.

2026 Brazilian Journal of Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Finding microbial composition and biological processes as predictive signature to access the ongoing status of mangrove preservation

Using DNA sequencing, researchers mapped the microbial communities in mangrove soils of a large Brazilian bay, comparing pristine and polluted areas near a petroleum refinery. Polluted mangroves showed increased populations of bacteria adapted to breaking down hydrocarbons, while beneficial organisms like diatoms declined. While focused on oil pollution, the findings are relevant to microplastics research because mangroves act as filters for coastal pollution, and degraded mangrove ecosystems are less effective at trapping microplastics before they reach the ocean.

2024 International Microbiology 11 citations
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

Exploring the Diversity and Antibiogram of the Soil around a Tertiary Care Hospital and a University Precinct in Southern India: A Pilot Study

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it profiles bacterial diversity and antibiotic resistance in soils around a hospital and university campus in southern India.

2023 Soil Systems
Article Tier 2

Diversity of Indigenous Bacteria from Mangrove Sediments in the Waters of Ambon Bay, Maluku

Researchers compared culture-based and culture-independent methods to characterise indigenous bacterial diversity in polluted versus natural mangrove sediments in Ambon Bay, Maluku, Indonesia, while also assessing physicochemical influences on community composition. They identified 33 isolates including Acinetobacter haemolyticus and Exiguobacterium acetylicum as dominant species across both habitat types.

2024 HAYATI Journal of Biosciences
Article Tier 2

Antimicrobial Resistance in Exploited Estuaries: Some Overlooked Environmental Contaminants and Microbial Niches Might Act as Drivers

This review examined antimicrobial resistance in exploited estuaries, identifying overlooked environmental contaminants including antibiotics, heavy metals, and biocides as drivers of resistance gene spread in estuarine microbiomes with implications for human health and food safety.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal variation of bacterial community structure in two intertidal sediment types of Jiaozhou Bay

This is a microbial ecology study characterizing bacterial communities in intertidal sediments of Jiaozhou Bay, China, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing; it is not a microplastics research paper.

2023
Article Tier 2

Peer Review #2 of "Large-scale differences in diversity and functional adaptations of prokaryotic communities from conserved and anthropogenically impacted mangrove sediments in a tropical estuary (v0.2)"

This is a peer review comment on a study examining microbial communities in mangrove sediments affected by human activities. It is a peer review document, not a primary research paper, and is not directly focused on microplastics.

2021
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere assemblages differ from the surrounding bacterial communities in transitional coastal environments

Researchers found that bacterial communities colonizing plastic particles (the plastisphere) in Portuguese estuarine and beach environments were significantly different from those in surrounding water and sediments, with plastic type and environmental conditions influencing microbial community composition.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Study of Heavy Metals and Microbial Communities in Contaminated Sediments Along an Urban Estuary

Researchers studied heavy metal contamination and microbial community composition in estuarine sediments along an urban waterway, finding that urbanization-driven metal accumulation significantly altered microbial diversity and community structure.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 36 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 3

A review of antibiotic accumulation, degradation and ecological risk in typical mangrove ecosystems

This bibliometric and meta-analysis review synthesizes research on antibiotic accumulation and degradation in mangrove ecosystems, finding that sediment properties drive antibiotic buildup while specific bacteria mediate biodegradation — a balance further disrupted by co-contaminants such as microplastics and heavy metals. The review warns that antibiotic contamination in mangroves promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and disrupts essential ecosystem functions like carbon and nitrogen cycling.

2026 Marine Environmental Research
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

[Microplastic-Induced Alterations to Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Seawater].

Microplastics added to seawater were found to increase the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) over a 49-day period, with different plastics having different effects. This suggests that microplastics in coastal waters may contribute to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, posing a risk to public health.

2021 Huan jing ke xue= Huanjing kexue 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel bacterial lineages assembled from wastewater-impacted river metagenomes unveil ecosystem functions and risk of antibiotic resistance spread in the community

Researchers assembled novel bacterial lineages from metagenomes of wastewater-impacted river sediments, identifying previously undescribed microbial taxa with metabolic capabilities for plastic degradation and emerging contaminant breakdown.

2025
Article Tier 2

[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.

2020 PubMed 8 citations