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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Fragmented Microplastics Synergize with Biological Treatment to Potentiate Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination during Sewage Treatment
ClearFragmented Microplastics Synergize with Biological Treatment to Potentiate Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination during Sewage Treatment
This repository provides supplementary data and analysis scripts for a study showing that fragmented microplastics synergize with biological wastewater treatment processes to enhance antibiotic resistance dissemination. Datasets include normalized abundance matrices for ARGs, MGEs, and virulence factor genes, along with metagenome-assembled genomes and R scripts for source tracking and ecological modeling.
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.
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.
Fibrous and FragmentedMicroplastics Discharged fromSewage Amplify Health Risks Associated with Antibiotic ResistanceGenes in Aquatic Environments
Researchers used metagenomic sequencing and high-throughput qPCR to characterize antibiotic resistance genes in sewage discharge-receiving waters, finding that fibrous and fragmented microplastics selectively enriched and transported resistance genes — amplifying antibiotic resistance risks beyond the genes' direct aquatic transfer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Diversity of antibiotic resistance gene variants at subsequent stages of the wastewater treatment process revealed by a metagenomic analysis of PCR amplicons
Not relevant to microplastics — this study uses next-generation sequencing to catalog antibiotic resistance gene variants at different stages of a wastewater treatment plant, finding that some variants change in abundance through the process while novel variants are present throughout.
Nanoplastics released from textile washing enrich antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in sewage sludge microbiomes
Researchers measured the nanoplastics released during washing of common synthetic fabrics and found substantial concentrations of particles between 130 and 240 nanometers in size. When these textile-derived nanoplastics were added to sewage sludge, they significantly increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factor genes in the microbial community. The findings suggest that laundry-released nanoplastics may be accelerating the spread of antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment systems.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Antibiotic resistance genes, antibiotic residues, and microplastics in influent and effluent wastewater from treatment plants in Norway, Iceland, and Finland
Researchers used Oxford Nanopore metagenomic sequencing, qPCR, HPLC, and µFTIR spectroscopy to simultaneously track antibiotic resistance genes, antibiotic residues, and microplastics in wastewater treatment plant influents and effluents in Norway, Iceland, and Finland. Sequencing identified 193 unique ARGs, with patterns suggesting that treatment processes affect ARG abundance but do not eliminate them, and that MPs co-occur with resistance-promoting conditions.
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.
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.
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.
Dataset of paper "Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents"
This is a duplicate dataset entry for the study on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilms in wastewater treatment plant effluents. The data document microbial communities on plastic surfaces that could transport drug-resistant bacteria into receiving waterways.
Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge on the antibiotic resistome in downstream aquatic environments: a mini review
This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants release antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes into rivers and lakes through their treated water. Current treatment processes cannot fully remove these resistance factors, allowing them to spread in downstream water bodies and potentially reach humans through drinking water and the food chain. The review is relevant to microplastics research because microplastics in wastewater can serve as surfaces where resistant bacteria grow and spread.
Microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance by regulating microbial and functional gene dynamics in sludge and food waste composting
Researchers analyzed the impact of polyethylene, polypropylene, and mixed PE+PP microplastics on antibiotic resistance gene propagation during sewage sludge and food waste composting. Microplastics significantly increased ARG abundance — with PE showing the highest enrichment at 2.06 log-fold — by altering microbial community dynamics and promoting horizontal gene transfer through mobile genetic elements.
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.
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.