We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics deteriorate the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes during aerobic sludge digestion
ClearInsight into effects of polyethylene microplastics in anaerobic digestion systems of waste activated sludge: Interactions of digestion performance, microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes
Polyethylene microplastics in anaerobic digestion systems processing waste activated sludge increased hydrolysis efficiency at 1 mm particle sizes but also altered microbial community composition and enriched antibiotic resistance genes. The findings suggest that MPs in sludge management pose risks for spreading ARGs through land application of digested biosolids.
Deciphering the role of polyethylene microplastics on antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements fate in sludge thermophilic anaerobic digestion process
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements during sewage sludge thermophilic anaerobic digestion. The study found that microplastic contamination increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and showed a strong positive correlation between microplastic concentration and mobile genetic element content, suggesting microplastics may promote the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Effects of polypropylene microplastics on digestion performance, microbial community, and antibiotic resistance during microbial anaerobic digestion
Researchers studied how polypropylene microplastics affect the anaerobic digestion process used to treat wastewater sludge. While small amounts of microplastics slightly increased methane production, they also promoted the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria in the digesters. This means microplastics in wastewater systems could contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which poses a serious threat to human health.
From wastewater to sludge: The role of microplastics in shaping anaerobic digestion performance and antibiotic resistance gene dynamics
This review examines how microplastics in wastewater treatment plants affect the anaerobic digestion process used to break down sewage sludge, finding that certain plastic types can either boost or reduce biogas production depending on conditions. Importantly, microplastics increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes by up to 514%, raising serious concerns that wastewater treatment -- meant to protect public health -- may instead become a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria when microplastics are present.
[Effects of Typical Microplastics on Methanogenesis and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Digestion of Sludge].
Researchers explored the impacts of polyamide, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics on methanogenesis and antibiotic resistance gene dynamics during anaerobic digestion of waste sludge, examining how microplastic contamination affects both biogas production and resistance gene enrichment.
Impacts of microplastic type on the fate of antibiotic resistance genes and horizontal gene transfer mechanism during anaerobic digestion
Researchers examined how three types of microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes during the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. They found that while microplastics actually increased methane production, they also decreased the overall abundance of antibiotic resistance genes but changed how those genes spread between bacteria. The study reveals a complex interaction where microplastics may reduce some resistance genes while promoting the horizontal transfer of others during waste treatment.
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.
Different effects of bio/non-degradable microplastics on sewage sludge compost performance: Focusing on antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors and key metabolic functions
Researchers compared how biodegradable and conventional microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities during sewage sludge composting. They found that both types of microplastics increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes, but non-biodegradable polypropylene had a stronger effect on promoting harmful virulence factors. The study raises concerns that microplastic contamination in composted sludge could spread antibiotic resistance when applied to agricultural land.
Microplastics Enhance the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Sludge Digestion by Enriching Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Surface Biofilm and Facilitating the Vertical and Horizontal Gene Transfer
This study found that microplastics in sewage sludge promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, which make bacteria harder to treat with antibiotics. Microplastics provided a surface for resistant bacteria to grow and helped them share resistance genes with other bacteria. The more microplastics present, the more antibiotic resistance spread, raising concerns about how plastic pollution in wastewater could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.
Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes nexus in sewage sludge: impact of thermal hydrolysis process- anaerobic digestion
Researchers reviewed the interactions between microplastics, antibiotic resistance genes, and biofilm-embedded microbial communities in sewage sludge treatment processes. The study found that these contaminants persist through wastewater treatment including thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion, posing environmental and public health risks when treated biosolids are applied to agricultural land.
Microplastics affect the ammonia oxidation performance of aerobic granular sludge and enrich the intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes
Exposure of aerobic granular sludge to PVC, PA, PS, and PE microplastics at 10 mg/L inhibited ammonia oxidation but nitrification recovered over time; all four MP types enriched intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes and suppressed ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.
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.
The removal of microplastics in the wastewater treatment process and their potential impact on anaerobic digestion due to pollutants association
A review of microplastics in wastewater treatment found that while treatment processes transfer most microplastics from water into sludge, this concentrated plastic material then carries adsorbed pollutants like antibiotics and heavy metals into anaerobic digestion systems. The desorption behavior of these toxic compounds from microplastics under digestion conditions is identified as a key determinant of whether sludge treatment remains effective and safe.
Different microplastics distinctively enriched the antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge digestion through shifting specific hosts and promoting horizontal gene flow
Researchers examined how polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics affect antibiotic resistance genes during sewage sludge digestion and found that both plastic types promoted the spread of resistance genes, but through different mechanisms. Polyethylene surfaces attracted specific bacteria that carry resistance genes, while PVC promoted horizontal gene transfer between organisms. The study raises concerns about wastewater treatment plants becoming hotspots for antibiotic resistance when microplastics are present.
Entry pathways determined the effects of MPs on sludge anaerobic digestion system: The views of methane production and antibiotic resistance genes fates
Researchers examined how the entry pathway of microplastics into sludge affects anaerobic digestion performance and the fate of antibiotic resistance genes. They compared wastewater-derived microplastics with those entering through anaerobic digestion processes and found that the entry pathway significantly influenced both methane production and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. The findings suggest that the source and history of microplastics in sewage sludge matter for downstream treatment outcomes.
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.
An overview of the occurrence, impact of process parameters, and the fate of antibiotic resistance genes during anaerobic digestion processes
This review examines how antibiotic resistance genes behave during anaerobic digestion -- a common method for treating sewage sludge and animal manure before it is spread on farmland. The presence of microplastics, heavy metals, and antibiotics in the waste can actually increase the abundance of resistance genes during treatment. This matters for human health because the treated material is often used as fertilizer, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance into the food chain.
Distinguishing removal and regrowth potential of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic resistant bacteria on microplastics and in leachate after chlorination or Fenton oxidation
Researchers compared chlorination and Fenton oxidation for removing antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic resistant bacteria from microplastics and surrounding landfill leachate, finding that target ARGs on microplastics were reduced significantly less than those in leachate. The study also characterized regrowth potential after treatment, highlighting microplastics as persistent ARG reservoirs.
(Micro) nanoplastics promote the risk of antibiotic resistance gene propagation in biological phosphorus removal system
The presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in a biological phosphorus removal system used in wastewater treatment promoted the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes, while also disrupting phosphorus removal efficiency. The study links micro- and nanoplastic contamination of treatment systems to both reduced process performance and increased antimicrobial resistance risk.
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.
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.
Real-world aged microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance genes dissemination in anaerobic sludge digestion via enhancing microbial metabolite communication-driven pilus conjugative transfer
Researchers found that naturally aged microplastics from real-world environments increased antibiotic resistance gene abundance in sludge by 2.59–15.31% compared to unaged controls, with the mechanism identified as enhanced pilus-mediated conjugative transfer driven by microplastic-associated changes in microbial metabolite signaling.
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.
Source, occurrence, migration and potential environmental risk of microplastics in sewage sludge and during sludge amendment to soil
This review examines microplastics in sewage sludge and the risks of applying sludge as agricultural fertilizer, finding that sludge acts as both a sink for sewage microplastics and a source when spread on fields. Co-accumulated heavy metals, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics further complicate the environmental risks of sludge amendment to soils.