Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Frontiers in Genetics 3 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Antibiotics 34 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Environment International 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Water Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Improving bacterial metagenomic research through long read sequencing

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper compares short-read and long-read DNA sequencing strategies for analyzing microbial communities (metagenomics), with no connection to plastic pollution.

2023
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Water Research 54 citations
Article Tier 2

The dangerous transporters: A study of microplastic-associated bacteria passing through municipal wastewater treatment

This study characterized bacterial communities attached to microplastics sampled from multiple stages of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, finding that diverse bacteria including potential pathogens and antibiotic-resistant strains remained attached to microplastics through all treatment steps. The results suggest microplastics could transport hazardous bacteria through wastewater treatment and into receiving environments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 46 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
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

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.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastic-associated microbial communities from various stages of wastewater treatment and recipient surface waters using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Researchers deployed six polymer types at different stages of wastewater treatment across three Hungarian plants and used MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify the bacteria colonizing microplastic surfaces, finding distinct microbial communities that may act as vectors for antibiotic resistance.

2025 Journal of Central European Green Innovation
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Interactions Between the Antibiotic Resistome and Microplastics Influenced by Trace Elements and PPCPs in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Researchers monitored wastewater treatment plants containing microplastics, trace elements, and pharmaceutical/personal care products, finding that these co-occurring pollutants interact to influence the survival and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes through the treatment process.

2025 Utah State Research and Scholarship (Utah State University)
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters 181 citations
Article Tier 2

Effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in microplastics removal: Insights from multiple analytical techniques

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in removing microplastics across multiple treatment stages, finding removal efficiencies of 70–90% but documenting that billions of particles still pass through in final effluent daily.

2025 Journal of Environmental Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere showing unique microbiome and resistome different from activated sludge

Researchers used metagenomics to compare the microbiome and resistome of PVC plastisphere biofilms with activated sludge, finding that microplastic surfaces enriched distinct pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes that differ from the surrounding sludge community.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastic-associated microbial communities from various stages of wastewater treatment and recipient surface waters using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry = Mikroműanyagokhoz társuló mikrobiális közösségek azonosítása a szennyvíztisztítás különböző fázisaiban és a befogadó felszíni vizekben MALDI-TOF MS módszerrel

Researchers used MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify microbial communities colonizing six types of microplastics deployed at multiple stages of wastewater treatment and in receiving surface waters, assessing how MPs serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes.

2025 Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Toxics 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics and their interaction with antibiotics in wastewater

Researchers characterized microplastics in wastewater and investigated their interactions with antibiotics, examining how microplastic surfaces adsorb antibiotic compounds and the implications for antibiotic transport and dissemination in wastewater treatment systems.

2025 e_Buah
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance fate in the full-scale drinking water and municipal wastewater treatment processes: A review

This review examines how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes move through drinking water and wastewater treatment processes, finding that conventional treatment does not fully eliminate resistance. Microplastics in water systems act as surfaces that harbor and potentially transfer antibiotic resistance genes, making microplastic removal from water treatment an important co-benefit for antibiotic resistance management.

2020 Environmental Engineering Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the impact of multi-dimensional microplastic stress on nitrogen removal by heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying bacteria: A meta-transcriptomic analysis

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics affect bacteria that are used to remove nitrogen from wastewater. They found that PVC microplastics were particularly disruptive, interfering with enzyme function and gene expression needed for denitrification. The study provides molecular-level insights into how microplastic pollution could undermine biological wastewater treatment systems.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 2 citations