Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance genes, antibiotic residues, and microplastics in influent and effluent wastewater from treatment plants in Norway, Iceland, and Finland

Researchers used Oxford Nanopore metagenomic sequencing, qPCR, HPLC, and µFTIR spectroscopy to simultaneously track antibiotic resistance genes, antibiotic residues, and microplastics in wastewater treatment plant influents and effluents in Norway, Iceland, and Finland. Sequencing identified 193 unique ARGs, with patterns suggesting that treatment processes affect ARG abundance but do not eliminate them, and that MPs co-occur with resistance-promoting conditions.

2025
Article Tier 2

Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters

Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.

2021 Water Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of various microplastics on bacterial community and antimicrobial resistance genes in Norwegian and South African wastewater

Researchers investigated how various microplastic types affect bacterial community composition and antimicrobial resistance gene prevalence in wastewater treatment plants in Norway and South Africa, examining whether plastic debris promotes antimicrobial resistance dissemination.

2024
Article Tier 2

Research progress on the origin, fate, impacts and harm of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants

This review explores how microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes interact in wastewater treatment plants, where they can survive treatment and enter the environment together. The concern for human health is that these contaminants can travel through the food chain, potentially increasing illness from antibiotic-resistant infections.

2024 Scientific Reports 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Interactions Between the Antibiotic Resistome and Microplastics Influenced by Trace Elements and PPCPs in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Researchers monitored wastewater treatment plants containing microplastics, trace elements, and pharmaceutical/personal care products, finding that these co-occurring pollutants interact to influence the survival and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes through the treatment process.

2025 Utah State Research and Scholarship (Utah State University)
Article Tier 2

Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge on the antibiotic resistome in downstream aquatic environments: a mini review

This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants release antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes into rivers and lakes through their treated water. Current treatment processes cannot fully remove these resistance factors, allowing them to spread in downstream water bodies and potentially reach humans through drinking water and the food chain. The review is relevant to microplastics research because microplastics in wastewater can serve as surfaces where resistant bacteria grow and spread.

2023 Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering 31 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

The Role of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance: Source, Measurement, Removal and Risk Assessment

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants handle antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes, finding that current treatment processes do not fully remove them. Different levels of treatment show varying removal rates, and resistant bacteria can still be found in treated water released into the environment. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because microplastics in wastewater can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria into waterways.

2024 Antibiotics 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance fate in the full-scale drinking water and municipal wastewater treatment processes: A review

This review examines how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes move through drinking water and wastewater treatment processes, finding that conventional treatment does not fully eliminate resistance. Microplastics in water systems act as surfaces that harbor and potentially transfer antibiotic resistance genes, making microplastic removal from water treatment an important co-benefit for antibiotic resistance management.

2020 Environmental Engineering Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in the plastisphere in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Health risk quantification and driving mechanism interpretation

Researchers found that microplastics in treated wastewater carry significantly more disease-causing bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors on their surfaces compared to the surrounding water. This means microplastics released from wastewater treatment plants into rivers and lakes could spread antibiotic-resistant infections, posing a direct risk to communities that rely on these water sources.

2024 Water Research 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable and conventional microplastics as vectors of extracellular ARGs in WWTP effluents: Mechanistic and differential global health risk

Researchers characterized extracellular antibiotic resistance genes bound to biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluents, finding mechanistic differences in how each plastic type associates with resistance gene-carrying DNA and estimating resulting global health risks.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics exhibit accumulation and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes

Researchers investigated whether microplastics in wastewater treatment plants can accumulate and spread antibiotic resistance genes. They found that bacteria growing on microplastic surfaces in treatment tanks harbored antibiotic resistance genes and transferred them at higher rates than bacteria in the surrounding water. This suggests microplastics in wastewater systems may serve as hotspots for spreading antibiotic resistance, posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Fibrous and FragmentedMicroplastics Discharged fromSewage Amplify Health Risks Associated with Antibiotic ResistanceGenes in Aquatic Environments

Researchers used metagenomic sequencing and high-throughput qPCR to characterize antibiotic resistance genes in sewage discharge-receiving waters, finding that fibrous and fragmented microplastics selectively enriched and transported resistance genes — amplifying antibiotic resistance risks beyond the genes' direct aquatic transfer.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Diversity of antibiotic resistance gene variants at subsequent stages of the wastewater treatment process revealed by a metagenomic analysis of PCR amplicons

Not relevant to microplastics — this study uses next-generation sequencing to catalog antibiotic resistance gene variants at different stages of a wastewater treatment plant, finding that some variants change in abundance through the process while novel variants are present throughout.

2024 Frontiers in Genetics 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced propagation of intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater by microplastics

Researchers investigated how microplastics in municipal wastewater can carry and promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, including those found both inside and outside bacterial cells. They found that microplastics adsorbed both types of resistance genes and enhanced their transfer between bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. The study reveals that microplastics in wastewater systems may act as an underappreciated accelerator of antibiotic resistance spread.

2021 Environmental Pollution 102 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

Interactions of microplastics, antibiotics and antibiotic resistant genes within WWTPs

This review examined the interactions between microplastics, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes within wastewater treatment plants, analyzing how MPs serve as carriers for antimicrobial compounds and facilitate the spread of resistance in microbial communities.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 145 citations
Article Tier 2

Metagenomic insights into ecological risk of antibiotic resistome and mobilome in riverine plastisphere under impact of urbanization

This study used advanced genetic sequencing to examine antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics found in an urban river. Microplastics harbored more antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements than natural materials like rocks and wood, and the problem was worse in more urbanized areas. The findings suggest that microplastics in waterways can act as hotspots for spreading antibiotic resistance, which is a growing public health threat.

2024 Environment International 11 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Chemical Engineering Journal 63 citations