Witsø Ingun Lund, Baral Amulya, Llarena Ann-Katrin, Aspholm Marina, Myrmel Mette, Wasteson Yngvild
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 3;20(9):e0330754. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330754. eCollection 2025.
Evidence suggests that plastic particles from various environments can accumulate harmful microorganisms and carry bacteria with antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). The so-called "plastisphere" might facilitate the spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance across environments, posing risks to human and animal health. This study aimed to analyze the diversity and abundance of ARGs found in plastispheres from various aquatic environments, identify clinically relevant pathogenic species, and ascertain bacterial hosts carrying ARGs. We present data from 36 metagenomes collected from plastispheres in different environments (freshwater, raw wastewater, and treated wastewater). The diversity and abundance of ARGs in the resistome of the plastispheres were analyzed through metagenomic methods. A total of 537 high-quality metagenomic-assembled genomes (MAGs) were constructed to identify clinically relevant pathogens and to link the detected ARGs to their bacterial hosts. The results show that the environment has the greatest influence on the abundance and diversity of ARGs in the plastispheres resistome, with the wastewater plastisphere containing a resistome with the highest diversity of ARGs. Resistance to beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, and tetracyclines were the most abundant resistance mechanisms detected in the different plastispheres. The construction of MAGs identified potential pathogens and environmental bacteria that confer resistance to one or several drug classes, with beta-lactams being the most pervasive form of AMR detected. This work enhances our understanding of the plastisphere's role in antimicrobial resistance dissemination and its ecological and public health risks.
有证据表明，来自各种环境的塑料颗粒会积累有害微生物，并携带带有抗微生物抗性基因（ARGs）的细菌。所谓的“塑料球”可能会促进病原体和抗微生物抗性在不同环境中的传播，对人类和动物健康构成风险。本研究旨在分析在各种水生环境的塑料球中发现的ARGs的多样性和丰度，确定临床相关的致病物种，并确定携带ARGs的细菌宿主。我们展示了从不同环境（淡水、原废水和处理后废水）的塑料球中收集的36个宏基因组的数据。通过宏基因组方法分析了塑料球抗性组中ARGs的多样性和丰度。总共构建了537个高质量的宏基因组组装基因组（MAGs），以识别临床相关病原体，并将检测到的ARGs与其细菌宿主联系起来。结果表明，环境对塑料球抗性组中ARGs的丰度和多样性影响最大，废水塑料球的抗性组中ARGs的多样性最高。在不同的塑料球中检测到的最丰富的抗性机制是对β-内酰胺类、氨基糖苷类和四环素类的抗性。MAGs的构建确定了对一种或几种药物类别具有抗性的潜在病原体和环境细菌，β-内酰胺类是检测到的最普遍的抗菌药物耐药形式。这项工作加深了我们对塑料球在抗微生物抗性传播中的作用及其生态和公共卫生风险的理解。
