Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Antibiotic sorption onto MPs in terrestrial environment: a critical review of the transport, bioaccumulation, ecotoxicological effects and prospects

This review examines how microplastics in soil absorb and transport antibiotics, creating complex pollutants that can spread antibiotic resistance genes through the environment. When antibiotic-carrying microplastics are taken up by plants or soil organisms, the resistance genes can eventually reach humans through the food chain. The authors highlight the need for better strategies to reduce microplastic contamination in soil to help slow the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance.

2024 Drug and Chemical Toxicology 14 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

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

Interaction of Microbes with Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Agroecosystems—Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in agricultural soil serve as hotspots for spreading antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria. The plastic particles provide surfaces where bacteria exchange genetic material, potentially accelerating the spread of drug-resistant microbes. This is a public health concern because resistant bacteria from farm soil can enter the food chain and make infections harder to treat.

2023 Pathogens 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance in urban soils: Dynamics and mitigation strategies

This review examines how urban soils act as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with microplastics identified as one of the sources spreading antibiotics and resistance genes through soil. The resistant bacteria can transfer to humans through direct contact, food, and water. The findings highlight an underappreciated way that microplastic pollution in cities could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.

2024 Environmental Research 16 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

An Overview of Antibiotic Resistance and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural Soils

This systematic review found that soil contaminants from organic and chemical fertilizers, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and untreated sewage sludge significantly promote antimicrobial resistance by increasing the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural soils. Abiotic stresses like salinity and drought further amplify this effect. The findings connect to microplastic research because microplastics have been shown to serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in soil environments.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Food safety risks from soil-borne microplastics and antibiotic resistance across vegetable production and consumption pathways

This review examines how microplastics enter agricultural systems through plastic mulch degradation, wastewater irrigation, and organic amendments, and subsequently translocate into plant tissues. The study highlights that microplastics can also carry antibiotic resistance genes that persist through the food chain into human digestion, raising concerns about food safety from soil-borne microplastic contamination.

2025 International Journal of Phytoremediation 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Long-term application of organic fertilizer prompting the dispersal of antibiotic resistance genes and their health risks in the soil plastisphere

Scientists found that microplastics in farmland soil treated with organic fertilizer for over 30 years created a "plastisphere" that amplified the spread of antibiotic resistance genes by 1.5 times and increased the risk of these genes jumping between bacteria by 2.7 times. This is concerning for human health because antibiotic-resistant bacteria from agricultural soils can eventually reach people through food and water.

2024 Environment International 72 citations
Article Tier 2

How micro-/nano-plastics influence the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes - A review

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics help spread antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria -- a major global health threat. The tiny plastic particles can act as platforms where bacteria exchange DNA carrying drug-resistance instructions, potentially making infections harder to treat. The effect depends on the type, size, and concentration of plastics, and has been documented in sewage, livestock farms, and landfills.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Is the application of organic fertilizers becoming an undeniable source of microplastics and resistance genes in agricultural systems?

Organic fertilizers such as compost, manure, and biosolids are increasingly recognized as significant pathways for both microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to enter agricultural soils. Microplastics in these fertilizers can carry and protect antibiotic-resistant bacteria, potentially spreading resistance through the food chain. The review identifies high-temperature composting as a partial solution for reducing ARGs but notes that effective methods for removing microplastics from organic fertilizers remain limited.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 190 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate and soil: a review

This review examines how microplastics in landfill leachate and soil can serve as carriers for antibiotic resistance genes and disease-causing bacteria. Researchers describe how microplastic surfaces create favorable environments for bacterial colonization and gene transfer, potentially spreading antimicrobial resistance. The study highlights an underappreciated pathway through which plastic waste in landfills may contribute to the broader antibiotic resistance crisis.

2023 Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering 18 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

The Role of the Environment (Water, Air, Soil) in the Emergence and Dissemination of Antimicrobial Resistance: A One Health Perspective

This review examines how water, soil, and air act as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with microplastics highlighted as one of several agents that help spread drug-resistant genes across environments. The findings matter for human health because microplastics can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria from wastewater and agricultural runoff into water supplies and food systems.

2025 Antibiotics 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in facility vegetable soil

This study found that microplastics in vegetable farm soils serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), potentially amplifying the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in agricultural environments. The co-presence of microplastics and ARGs in food-producing soils raises concerns about pathways for resistance genes to enter the food chain.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 175 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Antibiotics, Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, and Resistance Genes in Aquaculture: Occurrence, Contamination, and Transmission

This review examines how overuse of antibiotics in fish farming leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes that spread through water, sediment, and the organisms themselves. This is relevant to microplastic pollution because microplastics in aquaculture environments can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria, potentially transferring these dangerous genes to humans through the food chain.

2023 Toxics 153 citations
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

Migration of Microplastic‐Bound Contaminants to Soil and Their Effects

This chapter reviews how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils via sewage sludge and compost applications, adsorb heavy metals, organic pollutants, and antibiotics, and transport these contaminants into farmland, posing risks to the food chain and human health.

2023 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Food Animal Production: Environmental Implications and One Health Challenges

This review examines how antibiotic use in livestock and aquaculture contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes across the human-animal-environment interface. Researchers found that a substantial proportion of resistance genes detected in farm environments are shared with those found in human clinical settings. The study emphasizes the need for a One Health approach to surveillance and highlights the role of environmental reservoirs, including those contaminated with microplastics, in disseminating resistance.

2025 Environments 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

Are microplastics in livestock and poultry manure an emerging threat to agricultural soil safety?

This review examines the overlooked problem of microplastics in livestock and poultry manure, which enters agricultural soil when manure is used as fertilizer. Manure processing can actually make microplastics smaller, rougher, and more numerous, and the particles often carry additional pollutants like heavy metals, antibiotics, and pathogens. This creates a concerning cycle where microplastics from animal feed and farm equipment contaminate manure, which then introduces these particles directly into cropland and the food supply.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Abiotic Stressors on Soil Microbial Communities: A Focus on Antibiotics and Their Interactions with Emerging Pollutants

This review examines how environmental stressors, especially antibiotics, affect the microbial communities that keep soil healthy and fertile. It also covers how antibiotics interact with other emerging pollutants like microplastics and heavy metals in soil. When microplastics carry antibiotics into soil, the combination can promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is a growing concern for human health.

2024 Soil Systems 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as vectors of antibiotics, heavy metals, and PFAS from agricultural soils to the food chain: Sources, transport pathways, and human health implications

This review examines how microplastics in agricultural soils can adsorb and transport antibiotics, heavy metals, and PFAS chemicals through the food chain to humans. Researchers found that microplastics act as carriers that concentrate these pollutants and facilitate their uptake by crops and livestock. The study highlights the need for better understanding of how plastic particles serve as vectors for multiple contaminants in food systems.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: Disseminators of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria

This review examined the role of microplastics as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogenic bacteria, analyzing how plastisphere biofilms concentrate and spread AMR through air, water, and soil environments. The evidence supports MPs as global vectors for antimicrobial resistance dissemination with implications for human health.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology