Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China.
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education & Shanghai, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Nov 25;745:140916. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140916. Epub 2020 Jul 18.
Plastic wastes are ubiquitous in aquatic environment. Biofilms, which are often formed on the surface of plastic waste, may contain antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study focused on the occurrence and distribution of ARGs, metal resistance genes (MRGs) and their associated microbial communities in biofilms formed on different types of plastic, in comparison to associated sediment and water samples taken from the Yangtze Estuary. The results showed that polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) with visible biofilms were highly abundant, and the average absolute abundance of most tested ARGs in the biofilms was higher than that in the sediment and water, indicating that biofilms on plastics can act as a reservoir for ARGs. Moreover, the biofilms on PE had a higher relative abundance of ARGs, compared to those on other plastics, and Firmicutes on PE may be potential hosts for these ARGs. Furthermore, Bacillus, Mycobacterium and Pseudomonas may be multi-resistance genera on plastics, and tetA and tetW may have more potential hosts on PET and PP. Metals, total phosphorus and salinity may be the major environmental factors regulating ARGs in biofilms formed on plastics. The results provide new insights into evaluating the risks caused by plastic wastes and ARGs in biofilms formed on plastics in estuarine environment.
塑料废物在水生环境中无处不在。生物膜经常在塑料废物表面形成，其中可能含有抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）。本研究重点关注了在长江口采集的不同类型塑料上形成的生物膜、相关沉积物和水样中 ARGs、金属耐药基因（MRGs）及其相关微生物群落的发生和分布情况。结果表明，具有可见生物膜的聚丙烯（PP）和聚乙烯（PE）含量很高，且大多数测试的生物膜中 ARGs 的平均绝对丰度高于沉积物和水中的丰度，表明塑料上的生物膜可以作为 ARGs 的储存库。此外，与其他塑料相比，PE 上的生物膜中 ARGs 的相对丰度更高，而 PE 上的厚壁菌门可能是这些 ARGs 的潜在宿主。此外，芽孢杆菌属、分枝杆菌属和假单胞菌属可能是塑料上的多耐药属，而 tetA 和 tetW 可能在 PET 和 PP 上有更多的潜在宿主。金属、总磷和盐度可能是调节塑料上形成的生物膜中 ARGs 的主要环境因素。研究结果为评估河口环境中塑料废物和生物膜中 ARGs 所带来的风险提供了新的视角。
