Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics combined with tetracycline in soils facilitate the formation of antibiotic resistance in the Enchytraeus crypticus microbiome

Soil invertebrates (Enchytraeus crypticus) were exposed to microplastics and tetracycline alone and in combination; combined exposure promoted greater shifts in gut microbiome composition and higher levels of antibiotic resistance genes than either stressor alone, suggesting microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance spread in soil.

2020 Environmental Pollution 106 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of single and combined pollution of PE microplastics and antibiotics in soil on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings

This study examined the combined effects of polyethylene microplastics and antibiotic exposure on soil organisms, finding that mixture exposure altered soil microbial community structure and promoted antibiotic resistance gene abundance more than either stressor alone. Co-exposure to microplastics and antibiotics poses compounded risks for soil microbiomes.

2024
Article Tier 2

The impact of microplastic and sulfanilamide co-exposure on soil microbiota

This study investigated what happens when microplastics and the antibiotic sulfanilamide are present together in soil, finding that the combination significantly altered soil microbial communities compared to either pollutant alone. Both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics interacted with the antibiotic to change bacterial diversity and soil chemistry. The results show that microplastics and antibiotics in agricultural soil can have compounding effects on soil health, potentially affecting the crops grown in it.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of co-loading of polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin on the antibiotic degradation efficiency and microbial community structure in soil

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin together affect soil microbial communities and antibiotic degradation. The study found that co-loading of microplastics with antibiotics altered microbial community structure and affected the rate of antibiotic degradation in soil, suggesting microplastic contamination may influence how soils process pharmaceutical pollutants.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 142 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of coexistence of tetracycline, copper and microplastics on the fate of antibiotic resistance genes in manured soil

Researchers investigated how the co-presence of tetracycline, copper, and microplastics in manured agricultural soil affects antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundance, finding that microplastics amplified ARG spread when combined with the other stressors.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into combined pollution of antibiotics and microplastics in aquatic and soil environment: Environmental behavior, interaction mechanism and associated impact of resistant genes

This review examines the combined pollution created when microplastics absorb antibiotics in water and soil environments. Researchers found that microplastics can concentrate antibiotics on their surfaces, and this combination promotes the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in microbial communities. The study highlights that the interaction between these two emerging pollutants may pose greater environmental and health risks than either one alone.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of polyethylene microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes: A comparison based on different soil types and plant types

This study compared how polyethylene microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes across different soil types and found that contaminated soils and the presence of certain plants influenced which resistance genes proliferated. The results suggest that microplastics in agricultural soil can help spread antibiotic resistance, which is a serious concern for human health because resistant bacteria can enter the food supply through crops.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of oxytetracycline and microplastic on wheat seedling growth and associated rhizosphere bacterial communities and soil metabolite profiles

Researchers examined how the antibiotic oxytetracycline combined with polyethylene microplastics affects wheat seedling growth and soil microbial communities. They found that high concentrations of the antibiotic combined with microplastics significantly reduced seedling growth and altered the bacterial communities around the roots. The study reveals that the co-presence of antibiotics and microplastics in agricultural soils may create compounding negative effects on crop health.

2022 Environmental Pollution 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Varying characteristics and driving mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in farmland soil amended with high-density polyethylene microplastics

A 60-day soil experiment found that high-density polyethylene microplastics containing phthalate additives significantly enhanced antibiotic resistance gene abundance in farmland soil compared to plastics without phthalates, identifying phthalate release as a key driver of microplastic-associated ARG enrichment.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of tetracycline antibiotic resistance gene enrichment and migration in soil–plant system

This review examines how tetracycline antibiotic resistance genes spread through soil and into plants, with microplastics identified as one of the factors that accelerate this process. Resistance genes can transfer from soil bacteria into plant tissues through root absorption, ultimately accumulating in edible parts like leaves and fruits. This means microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil could help spread antibiotic resistance to humans through the food they eat.

2024 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of the Effects of Biodegradable and NonbiodegradableMicroplastics Combined with Pesticides on the Soil Microbiota

This study investigated how biodegradable (PLA) and non-biodegradable (PET) microplastics interact with glyphosate and imidacloprid pesticides in soil, finding that PLA increased microbial diversity while both microplastic types amplified the spread of antibiotic resistance genes when combined with pesticides.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

The Individual and Combined Effects of Microplastics and Antibiotics on Soil Microbial Metabolic Limitation and Carbon Use Efficiency

Researchers tested how polyethylene microplastics, biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics, and the antibiotic oxytetracycline individually and together affect soil microbial metabolism. When microplastics and antibiotics were combined, they shifted the nutrient limitation of soil microbes from nitrogen to phosphorus and reduced the efficiency with which microbes use carbon. The study suggests that the combined presence of microplastics and antibiotics in agricultural soils could disrupt fundamental nutrient cycling processes.

2025 Land Degradation and Development 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics inhibit oxytetracycline degradation in soils: Insights into biofilm-enhanced adsorption and microbial community shifts

Researchers examined how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics affect oxytetracycline degradation in organic fertilizer-amended paddy soil, finding that both plastic types significantly inhibited antibiotic degradation by lowering degradation rates 11.1-20.2%. Biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces enhanced oxytetracycline adsorption and shifted microbial community composition, reducing the abundance of antibiotic-degrading microorganisms.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
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

Effects of co-exposure of antibiotic and microplastic on the rhizosphere microenvironment of lettuce seedlings

Researchers examined how the combination of antibiotics and polyethylene microplastics in agricultural soil affects lettuce seedling growth and the microbial community around plant roots. They found that combined exposure altered soil bacterial diversity, changed the chemical profile of root-zone metabolites, and affected nutrient cycling differently than either contaminant alone. The study highlights the compounding environmental risks when antibiotics from animal manure and microplastics from plastic films co-exist in farmland soils.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of the Effects of Biodegradable and Nonbiodegradable Microplastics Combined with Pesticides on the Soil Microbiota

This study compared how biodegradable PLA and conventional PET microplastics, combined with common pesticides, affect soil microbial communities. Researchers found that PLA microplastics significantly increased microbial diversity but also enriched potentially harmful bacteria and elevated antibiotic resistance gene abundance more than PET, suggesting biodegradable plastics may pose underappreciated ecological risks in agricultural soils.

2025 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined contamination of microplastic and antibiotic alters the composition of microbial community and metabolism in wheat and maize rhizosphere soil

A study found that when soil is contaminated with both microplastics and antibiotics together, the damage to wheat and maize seedlings is worse than from either contaminant alone, with increased root oxidative stress and disrupted soil bacterial communities. This combined contamination, common in agricultural soils treated with plastic mulch and livestock manure, could affect crop health and food quality.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-mediated interactions with antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in sludge: combined effects and environmental implications

This review summarized the co-occurrence and interactions of microplastics, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in sludge environments, finding that their interactions are primarily controlled by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic forces, and electrostatic interactions, with biofilm formation playing a critical role. The combined ecological risks of these three pollutants in soil were shown to negatively affect soil microorganisms, plants, animals, and biogeochemical element cycling.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Systematic Review Tier 1

Sources, interactions, influencing factors and ecological risks of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes in soil: A review

Microplastics in soil serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes, with the plastisphere — the microbial community colonizing plastic surfaces — facilitating horizontal gene transfer of resistance markers. Key factors driving this interaction include microplastic properties, soil chemistry, and agricultural practices, though research in soil environments is still at an early stage compared to aquatic systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the combined impacts of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics and the ciprofloxacin antibiotic on sediment microbial communities and ecological functions

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics — both fresh and environmentally weathered — interact with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin to affect the microbial communities living in aquatic sediments. They found that microplastics, especially in combination with the antibiotic, disrupted microbial community structure and simplified the ecological networks that microbes rely on for stable functioning. This is concerning because healthy sediment microbe communities underpin nutrient cycling and ecosystem health, and their disruption by combined plastic-antibiotic pollution could have cascading effects.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic diversity increases the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in soil

When different types of microplastics accumulate together in soil, they increase the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria. The more diverse the mix of microplastic shapes, colors, and types, the greater the increase in these resistance genes. This is concerning for human health because antibiotic-resistant bacteria in soil can potentially transfer to people through food and water.

2024 Nature Communications 130 citations
Article Tier 2

Changes in tetracycline partitioning and bacteria/phage-comediated ARGs in microplastic-contaminated greenhouse soil facilitated by sophorolipid

This study investigated how the soil surfactant sophorolipid influences the fate of tetracycline and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in greenhouse soil that is also contaminated with microplastics. The findings highlight that microplastics can complicate antibiotic dissipation by affecting how bacteria and bacteriophages interact with both antibiotics and resistance genes.

2017 Journal of Hazardous Materials 235 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Environmental Pollution 2 citations