Tianjin International Joint Research Center for Environmental Biogeochemical Technology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, China.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Oct 1;310:119891. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119891. Epub 2022 Aug 5.
Microplastics have been proven to be hotspots of bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The enrichment of ARGs in microplastisphere, the specific niche for diverse microbial communities attached to the surface of microplastic, has attracted worldwide attention. By collecting 477 pairs of ARG abundance data belonging to 26 ARG types, based on the standardized mean difference (SMD) under the random effect model, we have performed the first meta-analysis of the ARG enrichment on microplastics in aquatic environments in order to quantitatively elucidate the enrichment effect, with comparison of non-microplastic materials. It was found that ARGs enriched on the microplastics were more abundant than that on the inorganic substrates (SMD = 0.26) and natural water environments (SMD = 0.10), but lower abundant than that on the natural organic substrates (SMD = -0.52). Furthermore, microplastics in freshwater tended to have a higher degree of ARG enrichment than those in saline water and sewage. The biofilm formation stage, structure, and component of microplastisphere may play a significant role in the enrichment of ARGs.
微塑料已被证实是细菌病原体和抗生素耐药基因 (ARGs) 的热点。微塑料表面附着的微生物群落的特定小生境——微塑料球内的 ARG 富集，引起了全球关注。通过收集 477 对属于 26 种 ARG 类型的 ARG 丰度数据，基于随机效应模型下的标准化均数差 (SMD)，我们进行了首次关于水生环境中微塑料上 ARG 富集的荟萃分析，以便定量阐明富集效应，并与非微塑料材料进行比较。结果发现，微塑料上的 ARG 比无机基质 (SMD = 0.26) 和自然水环境 (SMD = 0.10) 上的 ARG 更为丰富，但比自然有机基质 (SMD = -0.52) 上的 ARG 更为丰富。此外，淡水微塑料比咸水微塑料和污水微塑料更容易发生 ARG 富集。微塑料球内生物膜的形成阶段、结构和组成可能在 ARG 富集中发挥重要作用。
