Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Antibiotic-driven shifts in bacterial dynamics of the polyethylene terephthalate and low density polyethylene plastisphere in wastewater treatment systems

Researchers studied how antibiotic exposure shifts the bacterial communities colonizing PET and LDPE microplastic surfaces in activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants, finding that antibiotics altered plastisphere microbial composition and increased antibiotic resistance gene prevalence.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive profiling and risk assessment of antibiotic resistomes in surface water and plastisphere by integrated shotgun metagenomics

Researchers used shotgun metagenomics to compare antibiotic resistance genes in surface water versus the biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces, known as the plastisphere. They found that microplastics harbored distinct microbial communities with different antibiotic resistance profiles compared to surrounding water. The study raises concerns that microplastics may serve as vehicles for spreading antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
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

Antibiotic resistance in plastisphere

Researchers reviewed antibiotic resistance in the plastisphere — the microbial community colonizing plastic surfaces in aquatic environments — finding that plastic properties and aging influence the enrichment and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, and that aged microplastics pose elevated risks due to increased adsorption of resistant bacteria.

2024 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial dynamics of the plastisphere microbiome exposed to sub-lethal antibiotic pollution.

This study investigated how sub-lethal antibiotic concentrations in water interact with microplastic-associated biofilm communities (the plastisphere), finding that combined pollution alters bacterial dynamics and may contribute to antibiotic resistance selection in aquatic environments.

2024 Microbiome
Article Tier 2

Alteration of microbial mediated carbon cycle and antibiotic resistance genes during plastisphere formation in coastal area

Researchers investigated how microplastic surfaces in coastal environments develop biofilm communities, known as the plastisphere, and whether these biofilms enrich antibiotic resistance genes. The study found that incubation time, habitat type, and microplastic aging state all significantly influenced biofilm composition, and that aged microplastics accumulated more antibiotic resistance genes than new ones, suggesting microplastics may serve as vectors for spreading resistant bacteria.

2023 Chemosphere 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents

Researchers studied antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in biofilms on microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The study found that microplastic biofilms accumulated antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Bacillus, and that these biofilms harbored higher concentrations of resistance genes compared to surrounding water, suggesting microplastics may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Integration of metagenomic analysis and metabolic modeling reveals microbial interactions in activated sludge systems in response to nanoplastics and plasticizers

Researchers combined amplicon sequencing, metagenomics, and metabolic modeling to show that PVC nanoplastics and the plasticizer DEHP alter microbial community interactions in activated sludge wastewater systems — with DEHP exposure promoting cooperative metabolic relationships and both pollutants shifting interspecies iron and antioxidant exchange pathways.

2024 Water Research 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Responses of bacterial communities and resistance genes on microplastics to antibiotics and heavy metals in sewage environment

Polyvinyl chloride microplastics in sewage enriched pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes on their surfaces, and the presence of heavy metals and antibiotics altered but did not eliminate this enrichment over time. The findings suggest microplastics in wastewater environments could facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance through the microbial community.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 179 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic Biofilms and Plastisphere

This review examined aquatic biofilms and plastisphere communities that colonize microplastic surfaces, discussing how plastic substrates select for distinct microbial assemblages and may harbor pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Microbiome Interactions: Emerging Threats and Bioremediation Potentials

This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces — covering how these biofilms influence the fate and toxicity of microplastics while acting as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, and discussing their potential for bioremediation.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Microbiome Interactions: Emerging Threats and Bioremediation Potentials

This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces — covering how these biofilms influence the fate and toxicity of microplastics while acting as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, and discussing their potential for bioremediation.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics

Analysis of microplastics and their biofilms across raw sewage, effluent, and sludge at two wastewater treatment plants found that >99% of influent MPs were retained in sludge, and that wastewater treatment substantially altered biofilm microbial composition, enriching bioflocculation-associated taxa.

2021 PLoS ONE 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Taxonomic variation, plastic degradation, and antibiotic resistance traits of plastisphere communities in the maturation pond of a wastewater treatment plant

Researchers placed different types of weathered plastics in a wastewater treatment pond for up to a year and studied the microbial communities that grew on them. The study suggests that the bacteria colonizing plastics in wastewater were shaped more by time and water depth than by the type of plastic, and that these communities may carry genes related to plastic degradation and antibiotic resistance.

2024 Applied and Environmental Microbiology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater plastisphere enhances antibiotic resistant elements, bacterial pathogens, and toxicological impacts in the environment

Researchers reviewed how microplastics in wastewater form biofilms known as the plastisphere, which can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and human pathogens. The study found that conventional wastewater treatment plants are unable to fully remove micro- and nano-sized plastic particles, allowing them to enter natural environments. Evidence indicates the wastewater plastisphere enhances the spread of antibiotic resistance elements and bacterial pathogens, posing risks to both ecological and human health.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations
Article Tier 2

The plastisphere ecology: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on microbial community composition, function and assembly in aquatic ecosystems

Researchers studied the microbial communities living on microplastic surfaces (called the plastisphere) across four different aquatic sites and found that plastics host a distinctly different mix of microbes than the surrounding water, shaped by local pollution sources. These plastic-surface microbes also carry more antibiotic resistance genes and show greater potential for breaking down plastics, making the plastisphere both a health concern and a potential bioremediation resource.

2024 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere enrich antibiotic resistance genes and potential pathogenic bacteria in sewage with pharmaceuticals

Researchers investigated how tetracycline, ampicillin, and triclosan affected antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities on PVC and PE biofilms in sewage, finding that MPs enriched multidrug resistance genes and mobile genetic elements, with PE promoting greater microbial attachment than PVC.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 126 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Ecosystem-specific composition and drivers of plastisphere resistome in freshwater and marine environments

This comparative meta-analysis of metagenomic data found that microplastics in freshwater and marine environments harbor distinct antibiotic resistance gene profiles, with freshwater plastispheres showing greater resistome diversity. Microplastics serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance gene propagation, with mobile genetic elements facilitating transfer to potentially pathogenic bacteria.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

High-throughput sequencing data of the microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes from biofilms on polystyrene and nylon rope incubated in Bergen harbor.

Researchers used high-throughput metagenomics sequencing to characterize the microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes in biofilms ('plastisphere') formed on polystyrene and nylon ropes submerged in Bergen harbour, Norway for four weeks.

2025 Data in brief
Article Tier 2

Different microbial assemblage colonized on microplastics and clay particles in aerobic sludge treatment

In an aerobic sludge treatment system, polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) hosted more diverse and abundant bacterial communities than polypropylene MPs or natural clay particles, and each substrate type shaped its own distinct microbial niche. This matters because the unique microbiomes that form on plastic surfaces in wastewater systems may alter treatment efficiency and carry potentially harmful organisms into receiving environments.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

High-throughput absolute quantification sequencing reveals the adaptive succession and assembly pattern of plastisphere communities in municipal sewer systems: Influence of environmental factors and microplastic polymer types

Microplastics in municipal sewer systems develop their own distinct microbial communities (the 'plastisphere') that are shaped both by the type of plastic polymer and by environmental conditions like temperature and nutrient levels. The study found that different plastic types selectively enriched different microbes, including potential pathogens, meaning sewers could be hotspots for microplastic-mediated spread of harmful bacteria into waterways. This research highlights an understudied but practically important dimension of urban microplastic contamination.

2023 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

New insight into the effect of microplastics on antibiotic resistance and bacterial community of biofilm

Researchers found that different types of microplastics promote distinct biofilm communities and enhance antibiotic resistance gene proliferation compared to natural substrates, suggesting microplastics serve as unique platforms for the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

2023 Chemosphere 30 citations