Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Distinct influence of preservatives on microbial community and resistance gene in bio-carriers biofilm and microplastics biofilm as revealed in sulfur autotrophic denitrification coupled with anammox system

Researchers examined how preservatives commonly found in wastewater affect microbial communities on microplastic biofilms versus bio-carrier biofilms in a denitrification system. The study found that co-exposure to methylparaben and benzethonium chloride reduced nitrogen removal efficiency and enhanced the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes, particularly on microplastic surfaces.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere enhanced resistance genes propagation in sulfur autotrophic/heterotrophic denitrification system under mixed quaternary  ammonium compounds pressure

A laboratory wastewater treatment study found that microplastic surfaces — particularly those of biodegradable polylactic acid plastics — create enriched "plastisphere" communities that accumulate and spread antibiotic resistance genes more aggressively than the surrounding biofilm, especially under the additional stress of quaternary ammonium compound disinfectants. The biodegradable plastic appeared to provide extra carbon and energy to microbes, inadvertently turbocharging resistance gene proliferation. This challenges the assumption that switching to biodegradable plastics in wastewater systems is straightforwardly beneficial.

2026 Bioresource Technology
Article Tier 2

Unignorable environmental risks: Insight into differential responses between biofilm and plastisphere in sulfur autotrophic denitrification system upon exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds

This study found that microplastics in wastewater treatment plants collect more antibiotic resistance genes and disease-causing bacteria on their surfaces than regular biofilms, especially when exposed to common disinfectant chemicals. The plastic surfaces act as hotspots where dangerous bacteria gather and share resistance genes more easily. This raises concerns that microplastics leaving treatment plants could spread antibiotic-resistant infections into the environment.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 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

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

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

Effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics and benzylalkyldimethylethyl compounds on system performance, microbial community and resistance genes in sulfur autotrophic denitrification system

Researchers found that PVC microplastics and a common disinfectant chemical in wastewater treatment systems promoted the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, with the disinfectant having an even stronger effect than the microplastics. The microplastic surfaces harbored disease-causing bacteria that carried these resistance genes. This is concerning because wastewater treatment plants could be releasing both microplastics and antibiotic-resistant pathogens into waterways, potentially threatening human health.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 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 as a Vector for Pathogenic Microbes and Antibiotic Resistance

This review examines how the plastisphere, the microbial community that colonizes plastic surfaces, serves as a vector for pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb antibiotics and facilitate higher rates of plasmid transfer among bacteria, with potentially pathogenic species carrying multi-drug resistance genes identified on plastic surfaces.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Selection for antimicrobial resistance in the plastisphere

This review examines how microplastics in the environment may contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance by providing surfaces where bacteria, antibiotics, and resistant genes converge. Researchers describe several mechanisms by which the microbial communities living on microplastics, known as the plastisphere, could accelerate horizontal gene transfer of resistance traits. The study highlights an emerging concern at the intersection of plastic pollution and the global antimicrobial resistance crisis.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

The formation of specific bacterial communities contributes to the enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes in the soil plastisphere

Researchers used metagenomic approaches to study how microplastic surfaces in soil become enriched with antibiotic resistance genes through the formation of specific bacterial communities. The study tested three types of microplastics at two particle sizes and found that antibiotic resistance gene abundances significantly increased in the plastisphere compared to surrounding soil. Evidence indicates that microplastics in soil may serve as hotspots for the spread of antibiotic resistance.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Fates of extracellular and intracellular antibiotic resistance genes in activated sludge and plastisphere under sulfadiazine pressure

Researchers found that microplastics in wastewater treatment systems act as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes, with the plastic surfaces (plastisphere) harboring more resistance genes than the surrounding sludge. When exposed to the antibiotic sulfadiazine, the spread of resistance genes on microplastic surfaces increased, and DNA from potential pathogens was detected. This suggests that microplastics leaving wastewater treatment plants could carry drug-resistant bacteria into waterways, posing a risk to public health.

2023 Water Research 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as a New Ecological Niche For Multispecies Microbial Biofilms within the Plastisphere

This review examines microplastics as a novel ecological niche — the 'plastisphere' — analyzing how multispecies microbial biofilms colonize plastic surfaces, differ from surrounding environmental communities, and may facilitate biodegradation and horizontal gene transfer.

2022 Microbiology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine plastisphere selectively enriches microbial assemblages and antibiotic resistance genes during long-term cultivation periods

Researchers placed four types of common microplastics in a marine environment for over 100 days and found that bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance genes accumulated on the plastic surfaces over time. PVC microplastics were particularly effective at concentrating resistance genes, and a key gene-transfer element was found on all plastic types. These results show that microplastics floating in the ocean act as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could eventually reach humans through seafood or water.

2024 Environmental Pollution 15 citations
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

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

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
Article Tier 2

Reshaping the antibiotic resistance genes in plastisphere upon deposition in sediment-water interface: Dynamic evolution and propagation mechanism

Researchers examined how antibiotic resistance genes in the microplastic biofilm (plastisphere) evolve as MPs settle from water to sediment, finding that deposition in sediment reshapes ARG profiles and promotes horizontal gene transfer, amplifying resistance gene reservoirs in benthic environments.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 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

Selective colonization of microplastics, wood and glass by antimicrobial-resistant and pathogenic bacteria

Researchers investigated whether antimicrobial-resistant and pathogenic bacteria selectively colonize microplastics compared to wood and glass surfaces, examining the plastisphere as a potential reservoir for dangerous microbes. Plastic surfaces were found to harbor distinct and enriched communities of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria compared to natural substrates.

2024 Microbiology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

DeterminingAntimicrobial Resistance in the Plastisphere:Lower Risks of Nonbiodegradable vs Higher Risks of Biodegradable Microplastics

Researchers determined the prevalence and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes in the plastisphere (biofilm on microplastics) compared to surrounding water and sediment, finding that non-biodegradable plastics hosted distinct resistance gene profiles with lower overall resistance risk than biodegradable plastic surfaces.

2025 Figshare
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

(micro)Plastic biofilms: Keeping afloat by carving out a new niche

This review examined how microplastics accumulate microbial biofilms, creating a distinct ecological niche with unique community composition and metabolic activities. The microplastic biofilm, or plastisphere, can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, raising concerns about plastic particles as vectors of biological hazards.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)