Yashir Noman, Sun Qi, Zhang Xiqian, Ma Min, Wang Dong, Feng Yasong, Song Xin
State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 211135, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 211135, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2025 Jan 20;961:178373. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178373. Epub 2025 Jan 9.
There is a major gap in the occurrence of mixed emerging contaminants, which hinders our efforts in exploring their behaviors and transport in environmental media, as well as their toxicity to human and ecosystem. This study assessed the occurrence and their correlations of mixed contamination by microplastics (MPs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in groundwater collected from a pharmaceutical and chemical industrial park. MPs, PFASs, antibiotics and ARGs were detected at all monitoring wells. The total concentration range of MPs and 20 PFASs were 693-1032 pieces/L and 577.47-2982.45 ng/L, respectively, with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) being the most prevalent compound among PFASs in groundwater. The abundance of detected target antibiotics and ARGs ranged from 1.97 to 30.65 ng/L and from 2.65 × 10 to 7.53 × 10 copies/mL, respectively. MPs and PFASs have a significant positive correlation, yet interestingly, no correlation was found between antibiotics and ARGs. In addition, the relatively high abundance of integron intI1 detected in the study area illustrated the potential horizontal transfer risk of ARGs in the subsurface. Furthermore, the effects of these mixed emerging contaminants on the indigenous microbial communities were elucidated. The coexistence of MPs, PFASs, antibiotics, and ARGs led to the enrichment of species that were tolerant to pollutants. Specifically, MPs, PFASs and ARGs were found to be positively correlated with Acinetobacter, unclassified_f__Comamonadaceae, Pseudomonas, Simplicispira and Proteiniphilum, while antibiotics were positively associated with Paenisporosarcina and Arthrobacter. Moreover, geochemical parameters such as oxidation-reduction potential and nitrate also played a key role in shaping the microbial community structure. The co-occurrence of mixed emerging contaminants highlighted in this study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive environmental monitoring, systematic toxicity assessments, and stricter regulatory frameworks. In addition, it offers insights in the development of effective bioremediation strategies to mitigate their impacts on both ecosystems and public health.
混合新兴污染物的出现存在重大差距，这阻碍了我们探索它们在环境介质中的行为和迁移以及它们对人类和生态系统毒性的努力。本研究评估了从一个医药化工产业园区采集的地下水中微塑料（MPs）、全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFASs）、抗生素以及抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）的混合污染情况及其相关性。在所有监测井中均检测到了MPs、PFASs、抗生素和ARGs。MPs和20种PFASs的总浓度范围分别为693 - 1032个/升和577.47 - 2982.45纳克/升，全氟辛酸（PFOA）是地下水中PFASs中最普遍的化合物。检测到的目标抗生素和ARGs的丰度分别为1.97至30.65纳克/升和2.65×10至7.53×10拷贝/毫升。MPs和PFASs具有显著的正相关关系，但有趣的是，未发现抗生素与ARGs之间存在相关性。此外，研究区域中检测到的整合子intI1丰度相对较高，表明地下水中ARGs存在潜在的水平转移风险。此外，还阐明了这些混合新兴污染物对本地微生物群落的影响。MPs、PFASs、抗生素和ARGs的共存导致了对污染物具有耐受性的物种的富集。具体而言，发现MPs、PFASs和ARGs与不动杆菌属、未分类的Comamonadaceae科、假单胞菌属、简单螺旋菌属和嗜蛋白菌属呈正相关，而抗生素与芽孢八叠球菌属和节杆菌属呈正相关。此外，氧化还原电位和硝酸盐等地球化学参数在塑造微生物群落结构方面也起着关键作用。本研究中突出的混合新兴污染物的共存强调了进行全面环境监测、系统毒性评估和更严格监管框架的迫切需求。此外，它为制定有效的生物修复策略以减轻它们对生态系统和公众健康的影响提供了见解。
