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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Survival of human pathogens bound to microplastics during transfer through the freshwater-marine continuum: from wastewater discharge to the beach
ClearFrom wastewater discharge to the beach: Survival of human pathogens bound to microplastics during transfer through the freshwater-marine continuum
Researchers investigated how human pathogens survive on microplastic surfaces as they travel from wastewater treatment plants through freshwater into marine environments. They found that the biofilm environment on plastic surfaces helped bacteria like E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis persist longer during transitions between water types compared to bacteria in the surrounding water. The study suggests that microplastics may facilitate the environmental spread of pathogens by providing a protective habitat during transport.
Sewers to Seas: exploring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance on microplastics from hospital wastewater to marine environments
Researchers tracked microplastics from hospital wastewater through sewers to coastal seas to determine whether the plastisphere on these particles uniquely enriches antimicrobial-resistant and pathogenic bacteria beyond what is found on other environmental substrates.
Pathogens transported by plastic debris: does this vector pose a risk to aquatic organisms?
This review examined whether microplastics act as vectors for pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Evidence indicates that diverse microorganisms including pathogens adhere to microplastic surfaces, and modeling suggested potential for long-range pathogen transport, though the scale of ecological and public health risk remains uncertain.
Exploiting microplastics and the plastisphere for the surveillance of human pathogenic bacteria discharged into surface waters in wastewater effluent
Researchers placed small plastic particles in rivers upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant and found that disease-causing bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella, quickly formed biofilms on them within 24 hours. These biofilms carried antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors, showing that microplastics in waterways can serve as floating platforms for dangerous bacteria that pose risks to human health.
From rivers to marine environments: A constantly evolving microbial community within the plastisphere
Researchers sampled 107 plastic pieces across four aquatic ecosystems in southern France and found that the sampling location and polymer chemistry were the strongest drivers of plastisphere microbial community composition, while only 11% of samples showed elevated Vibrio pathogen levels compared to surrounding water.
Colonisation of plastic pellets (nurdles) by E. coli at public bathing beaches
Researchers mapped the distribution of plastic resin pellets (nurdles) at five public bathing beaches and found that all sites harbored pellets colonized by E. coli and Vibrio bacteria, suggesting that the plastisphere — the biofilm community on plastic surfaces — could serve as a dispersal vector for pathogenic and fecal indicator organisms in coastal environments.
Microplastics accumulate priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens: Evidence from the riverine plastisphere
Researchers placed microplastics in river water and found they accumulated more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than natural sand particles, including dangerous pathogens like E. coli and Klebsiella. Most of the bacteria isolated from the plastic surfaces were multi-drug resistant and carried virulence traits like biofilm formation. This suggests microplastics in waterways may act as rafts for spreading antibiotic resistance through the environment.
Survival of human enteric and respiratory viruses on plastics in soil, freshwater, and marine environments
Researchers investigated the survival of human enteric and respiratory viruses on plastic surfaces in soil, freshwater, and marine environments. The study found that plastics and microplastics can harbor pathogenic viruses in addition to bacteria, suggesting that the so-called plastisphere may serve as a previously underappreciated pathway for the transmission of human pathogens in the environment.
The Travelling Particles: Investigating microplastics as possible transport vectors for multidrug resistant E. coli in the Weser estuary (Germany)
Scientists tested whether microplastics in the Weser estuary in Germany carry multidrug-resistant ESBL-producing E. coli, finding resistant bacteria on plastic surfaces at concentrations above surrounding water, confirming that microplastics can serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Microbial hitchhikers on marine plastic debris: Human exposure risks at bathing waters and beach environments.
This review examines how marine plastic debris serves as a habitat for microbial communities including potential pathogens, a phenomenon called the Plastisphere, and assesses the human health risks when plastic-associated microbes reach bathing waters and beaches. The authors conclude that plastic litter can amplify microbial hazards to public health in coastal recreation areas.
Direct Evidence of Microplastic-Mediated Microbial Migration Across the River-Sea Transition via a Novel Field-Laboratory Coupled Approach
Microplastics floating down rivers into the ocean carry a coating of bacteria—the 'plastisphere'—but whether these microbial hitchhikers actually alter marine microbial communities upon arrival was unclear. This study combined field incubation in freshwater and lab simulation of the river-sea transition, finding that long-incubated plastispheres (140 days) rapidly disrupted marine microbial community structure within days of contact, while freshly formed biofilms had minimal effect. The finding suggests that microplastics traveling long distances from inland sources may be more ecologically disruptive to coastal marine ecosystems than locally produced plastic debris, because older biofilms carry established microbial communities that can outcompete native marine microbes.
Wastewater discharges and polymer type modulate the riverine plastisphere and set the role of microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antibiotic resistance
Researchers investigated how wastewater treatment plant discharges and polymer type shape microbial communities on microplastics in a river environment. They found that microplastics harbored significantly higher microbial diversity than surrounding water, and that wastewater discharges led to a 2.3-fold increase in antibiotic resistance gene abundance on the plastic surfaces. Different polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET, each attracted distinct microbial communities with varying levels of pathogens and resistance genes.
The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics
This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that form on microplastic surfaces — affect the fate and ecological effects of plastic pollution. Biofilm formation alters how microplastics are transported, ingested, and degraded in the environment, and the plastisphere can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may pose risks to human health.
Assessment of Emerging Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Biofilm of Microplastics Incubated Under a Wastewater Discharge Simulation
Researchers incubated common plastic types in flowing water that simulated wastewater discharge conditions for 10 weeks and studied the bacteria that colonized the plastic surfaces. They found that microplastics exposed to treated wastewater developed distinct bacterial communities compared to those in clean river water, including emerging pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways receiving wastewater may serve as mobile platforms for spreading harmful bacteria and antibiotic resistance in the environment.
Potential impact of marine-derived plastisphere as a Vibrio carrier on marine ecosystems: Current status and future perspectives
This review examines how microplastics in the ocean serve as floating platforms for Vibrio bacteria, which are significant pathogens threatening aquaculture and marine ecosystem health. Researchers found that the so-called plastisphere, the microbial community that colonizes plastic surfaces, can enhance the survival and spread of these harmful bacteria. The study highlights a concerning link between plastic pollution and the potential amplification of waterborne disease risks.
Dynamics and implications of biofilm formation and community succession on floating marine plastic debris
Researchers examined how biofilms form on plastic debris in aquatic environments and how the resulting microbial communities evolve over time, finding that the plastisphere hosts distinct microbial assemblages including potential pathogens. The study has implications for understanding plastic debris as a vector for microbial dispersal.
Watershed urbanization enhances the enrichment of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in the water environment
Researchers compared microplastic biofilm communities (the plastisphere) across watersheds with different levels of urbanization, finding that higher urbanization enriched pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes on plastic surfaces in waterways. The study suggests that urban runoff substantially elevates the health risk posed by microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.
Plastisphere in a low-pollution mountain river: Influence of microplastics on survival of pathogenic bacteria
Microplastics submerged in a low-pollution mountain river developed distinct bacterial communities compared to water and sand, but the plastisphere did not enhance pathogen survival, suggesting that in clean river environments microplastics may not substantially increase pathogen persistence.
Plastics as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic systems.
This review examined how plastics in aquatic systems act as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, summarizing attachment mechanisms, transport dynamics, and the implications for water quality and public health.
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.
Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments
This review compared microplastic-associated biofilm communities in freshwater and marine environments, examining how plastic type, ecosystem, and environmental conditions shape the microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces. Understanding these "plastisphere" communities is important because they may include pathogens and can affect the fate and transport of plastic particles.
Increased inheritance of structure and function of bacterial communities and pathogen propagation in plastisphere along a river with increasing antibiotics pollution gradient.
This study examined how bacterial communities colonizing plastic debris in a river — the Plastisphere — change along a gradient of increasing antibiotic pollution. Plastic debris hosted distinct microbial communities compared to surrounding water, and areas with higher antibiotic levels showed greater inheritance of resistant bacterial structures on plastic surfaces, suggesting plastics facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Microplastics as Vectors of Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquatic Systems
This doctoral thesis investigated microplastics as vectors for antimicrobial resistance through in vitro, in situ, and in vivo experiments, examining the Plastisphere as a unique niche that may enrich antimicrobial-resistant pathogens beyond what bulk water concentrations would predict.
Pathogenic Hitchhikers on Microplastics: Ecological Risks and Gaps Gleaned from Two Decades of Research
This review examined two decades of research on pathogenic microorganisms associated with microplastics, identifying only 57 published studies on the topic. The most commonly reported pathogens found on microplastic surfaces were Vibrio species, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the polymer types most frequently associated with pathogen colonization, confirming that microplastics can serve as vectors for spreading disease-causing organisms in the environment.