Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives

Luo，Gaoyang1; Liang，Bin1; Cui，Hanlin1,2; Kang，Yuanyuan1; Zhou，Xu1; Tao，Yu1; Lu，Lu1; Fan，Lu3,4; Guo，Jianhua5; Wang，Aijie1; Gao，Shu Hong1

2023

10.1021/acs.est.3c01128

Environmental Science and Technology   Impact Factor & Quartile

0013-936X

1520-5851

Microorganisms colonizing the surfaces of microplastics form a plastisphere in the environment, which captures miscellaneous substances. The plastisphere, owning to its inherently complex nature, may serve as a “Petri dish” for the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), adding a layer of complexity in tackling the global challenge of both microplastics and ARGs. Increasing studies have drawn insights into the extent to which the proliferation of ARGs occurred in the presence of micro/nanoplastics, thereby increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, a comprehensive review is still lacking in consideration of the current increasingly scattered research focus and results. This review focuses on the spread of ARGs mediated by microplastics, especially on the challenges and perspectives on determining the contribution of microplastics to AMR. The plastisphere accumulates biotic and abiotic materials on the persistent surfaces, which, in turn, offers a preferred environment for gene exchange within and across the boundary of the plastisphere. Microplastics breaking down to smaller sizes, such as nanoscale, can possibly promote the horizontal gene transfer of ARGs as environmental stressors by inducing the overgeneration of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, we also discussed methods, especially quantitatively comparing ARG profiles among different environmental samples in this emerging field and the challenges that multidimensional parameters are in great necessity to systematically determine the antimicrobial dissemination risk in the plastisphere. Finally, based on the biological sequencing data, we offered a framework to assess the AMR risks of micro/nanoplastics and biocolonizable microparticles that leverage multidimensional AMR-associated messages, including the ARGs’ abundance, mobility, and potential acquisition by pathogens.

antimicrobial resistance microplastics plastisphere quantification risk assessment

SCI

English

NI Journal Papers

Others

National Natural Science Foundation of China["52070060","52293441","52230004"] ; Shenzhen Overseas High-level Talents Research Startup Program[20200518750C] ; Shenzhen Science and Technology Program[KQTD20190929172630447]

Engineering ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Engineering, Environmental ; Environmental Sciences

WOS:001047838800001

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY

2-s2.0-85168427503

Scopus

1.State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment,School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen,Shenzhen,518055,China
2.State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environment,School of Environment,Harbin Institute of Technology,Harbin,150090,China
3.Department of Ocean Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China
4.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,511458,China
5.Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB,formerly AWMC),The University of Queensl,St. Lucia,4072,Australia

Luo，Gaoyang,Liang，Bin,Cui，Hanlin,et al. Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives[J]. Environmental Science and Technology,2023,57(33).

Luo，Gaoyang.,Liang，Bin.,Cui，Hanlin.,Kang，Yuanyuan.,Zhou，Xu.,...&Gao，Shu Hong.(2023).Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives.Environmental Science and Technology,57(33).

Luo，Gaoyang,et al."Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives".Environmental Science and Technology 57.33(2023).