Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jul 15;882:163093. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163093. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
Plastic waste is ubiquitous in the environment and can become colonised by distinct microbial biofilm communities, known collectively as the 'plastisphere.' The plastisphere can facilitate the increased survival and dissemination of human pathogenic prokaryotes (e.g., bacteria); however, our understanding of the potential for plastics to harbour and disseminate eukaryotic pathogens is lacking. Eukaryotic microorganisms are abundant in natural environments and represent some of the most important disease-causing agents, collectively responsible for tens of millions of infections, and millions of deaths worldwide. While prokaryotic plastisphere communities in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments are relatively well characterised, such biofilms will also contain eukaryotic species. Here, we critically review the potential for fungal, protozoan, and helminth pathogens to associate with the plastisphere, and consider the regulation and mechanisms of this interaction. As the volume of plastics in the environment continues to rise there is an urgent need to understand the role of the plastisphere for the survival, virulence, dissemination, and transfer of eukaryotic pathogens, and the effect this can have on environmental and human health.
塑料废物在环境中无处不在，并且可以被独特的微生物生物膜群落定植，这些群落统称为“塑料体”。塑料体可以促进人类病原性原核生物（例如细菌）的生存和传播增加；然而，我们对塑料容纳和传播真核病原体的潜力了解甚少。真核微生物在自然环境中大量存在，是最重要的病原体之一，它们共同导致了数千万的感染和全球数百万人的死亡。虽然陆地、淡水和海洋环境中的原核塑料体群落已经得到了相对较好的描述，但这些生物膜也将包含真核物种。在这里，我们批判性地审查了真菌、原生动物和寄生虫病原体与塑料体相关联的潜力，并考虑了这种相互作用的调节和机制。随着环境中塑料的数量持续增加，迫切需要了解塑料体对真核病原体的生存、毒力、传播和转移的作用，以及这对环境和人类健康的影响。
