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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance by regulating microbial and functional gene dynamics in sludge and food waste composting
ClearDifferent effects of bio/non-degradable microplastics on sewage sludge compost performance: Focusing on antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors and key metabolic functions
Researchers compared how biodegradable and conventional microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities during sewage sludge composting. They found that both types of microplastics increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes, but non-biodegradable polypropylene had a stronger effect on promoting harmful virulence factors. The study raises concerns that microplastic contamination in composted sludge could spread antibiotic resistance when applied to agricultural land.
Metagenomic Analysis Reveals the Effects of Microplastics on Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Sludge Anaerobic Digestion
Researchers used metagenomic analysis to study how microplastics in sewage sludge affect the spread of antibiotic resistance genes during anaerobic digestion. They found that microplastics increased antibiotic resistance gene levels by up to 30 percent, with polyethylene having the strongest effect, and also boosted the mobile genetic elements that help resistance genes spread between bacteria. The findings raise concerns about microplastics facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistance through wastewater treatment systems.
Microplastics Enhance the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Sludge Digestion by Enriching Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Surface Biofilm and Facilitating the Vertical and Horizontal Gene Transfer
This study found that microplastics in sewage sludge promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, which make bacteria harder to treat with antibiotics. Microplastics provided a surface for resistant bacteria to grow and helped them share resistance genes with other bacteria. The more microplastics present, the more antibiotic resistance spread, raising concerns about how plastic pollution in wastewater could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.
Different microplastics distinctively enriched the antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge digestion through shifting specific hosts and promoting horizontal gene flow
Researchers examined how polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes during sewage sludge digestion and found that both plastic types promoted the spread of resistance genes, but through different mechanisms. Polyethylene surfaces attracted specific bacteria that carry resistance genes, while PVC promoted horizontal gene transfer between organisms. The study raises concerns about wastewater treatment plants becoming hotspots for antibiotic resistance when microplastics are present.
Deciphering the role of polyethylene microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements fate in sludge thermophilic anaerobic digestion process
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements during sewage sludge thermophilic anaerobic digestion. The study found that microplastic contamination increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and showed a strong positive correlation between microplastic concentration and mobile genetic element content, suggesting microplastics may promote the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Impacts of microplastic type on the fate of antibiotic resistance genes and horizontal gene transfer mechanism during anaerobic digestion
Researchers examined how three types of microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes during the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. They found that while microplastics actually increased methane production, they also decreased the overall abundance of antibiotic resistance genes but changed how those genes spread between bacteria. The study reveals a complex interaction where microplastics may reduce some resistance genes while promoting the horizontal transfer of others during waste treatment.
Reshaping the antibiotic resistance genes in plastisphere upon deposition in sediment-water interface: Dynamic evolution and propagation mechanism
Researchers examined how antibiotic resistance genes in the microplastic biofilm (plastisphere) evolve as MPs settle from water to sediment, finding that deposition in sediment reshapes ARG profiles and promotes horizontal gene transfer, amplifying resistance gene reservoirs in benthic environments.
Microplastics enhance the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in mariculture sediments by enriching host bacteria and promoting horizontal gene transfer
Researchers found that polystyrene and PVC microplastics in marine sediments increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes by 1.4 to 2.8 times compared to sediment without plastics. PVC was particularly harmful because its chemical additives, including heavy metals and bisphenol A, promoted bacteria to share resistance genes more readily. These findings show that microplastic pollution in oceans is directly contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a major public health concern.
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.
Unraveling the role of microplastics in antibiotic resistance: Insights from long-read metagenomics on ARG mobility and host dynamics
Researchers used long-read metagenomics to investigate how microplastics serve as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments. They found that plasmid-encoded resistance genes varied significantly between microplastic biofilms and surrounding water, highlighting horizontal gene transfer as a key mechanism for resistance gene enrichment on plastic surfaces. The study identified specific bacterial taxa driving this enrichment and revealed that enhanced cell adhesion and transporter activity on microplastics facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Real-world aged microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance genes dissemination in anaerobic sludge digestion via enhancing microbial metabolite communication-driven pilus conjugative transfer
Researchers found that naturally aged microplastics from real-world environments increased antibiotic resistance gene abundance in sludge by 2.59–15.31% compared to unaged controls, with the mechanism identified as enhanced pilus-mediated conjugative transfer driven by microplastic-associated changes in microbial metabolite signaling.
Microplastics deteriorate the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes during aerobic sludge digestion
Polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics added to aerobic sludge digesters significantly reduced the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes during digestion, with plastic particles enriching resistant bacteria on their surfaces and impeding the normal treatment-associated decline in ARG abundance, posing a risk for sludge land application.
Microplastic biofilm as hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes and potential pathogens
This review examined how microplastic biofilms—the plastisphere—serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) accumulation and potential pathogen enrichment. The authors described mechanisms by which microplastic surfaces promote horizontal gene transfer and bacterial community shifts that favor ARG-carrying strains, raising concern that microplastics accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments.
Microplastic aging mediates bacterial and antibiotic resistance gene composition in plastisphere and the associated soil solution
Researchers ran a microcosm experiment comparing how pristine versus aged microplastics influenced bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) composition in the plastisphere and surrounding soil solution. Aged MPs enriched distinct ARGs and microbial taxa compared to pristine MPs, suggesting MP weathering intensifies the spread of antibiotic resistance in soils.
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.
Microplastisphere may induce the enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
This first meta-analysis of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) enrichment on microplastics found that ARGs were more abundant on microplastic surfaces than on inorganic substrates or in surrounding water, but less abundant than on natural organic substrates. Freshwater microplastics showed a higher degree of ARG enrichment than those in saline water or sewage.
The combined effect of microplastics and tetracycline on soil microbial communities and ARGs
Researchers studied how simultaneous exposure to microplastics and tetracycline affects soil microbial communities, finding that the combination disrupted microbial diversity, altered functional gene expression, and promoted horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes beyond the effects of either pollutant alone.
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.
Polyethylene microplastics specifically drive the dissemination of ARGs: Mechanisms involving microbial community restructuring and horizontal gene transfer
A 28-day lake water experiment found that polyethylene microplastics specifically — more than polystyrene or polypropylene — drove significant increases in antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in the water's microbial community, largely by restructuring which bacteria dominated and facilitating horizontal gene transfer between microbes. The plastic surface appeared to create a hotspot for resistance gene exchange by enriching certain bacterial genera that serve as hosts for these genes. Since lakes are both drinking water sources and recreational waters, this finding highlights polyethylene microplastics as a particular concern for public health.
Microplastics 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.
Microplastics act as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes in landfill leachate: The enhanced roles of the long-term aging process
This study examined whether the aging of microplastics in aquatic environments influences their role as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Aged microplastics showed different ARG enrichment patterns on their surfaces compared to pristine particles, suggesting that weathering changes the capacity of plastic debris to accumulate and spread antibiotic resistance.
Microplastics shape microbial interactions and affect the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in different full-scale wastewater treatment plants
A study of three full-scale wastewater treatment plants found that microplastics were associated with increased spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with microplastic surfaces appearing to facilitate microbial interactions that promote ARG transfer. This is a significant public health concern because wastewater plants that fail to fully remove microplastics may also be inadvertently accelerating the dissemination of antibiotic resistance into receiving waterways.
Fate and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in facility vegetable soil
This study found that microplastics in vegetable farm soils serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), potentially amplifying the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in agricultural environments. The co-presence of microplastics and ARGs in food-producing soils raises concerns about pathways for resistance genes to enter the food chain.
(Nano)microplastics promote the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes in landfill leachate
Researchers found that (nano)microplastics in municipal landfill leachate actively promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, highlighting landfill sites as dual reservoirs of plastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance threats.