Techniques Used for Analyzing Microplastics, Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Community Composition: A Mini-Review

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat. Antibiotics, heavy metals, and microplastics are environmental pollutants that together potentially have a positive synergetic effect on the development, persistence, transport, and ecology of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment. To evaluate this, a wide array of experimental methods would be needed to quantify the occurrence of antibiotics, heavy metals, and microplastics as well as associated microbial communities in the natural environment. In this mini-review, we outline the current technologies used to characterize microplastics based ecosystems termed plastisphere and their AMR promoting elements (antibiotics, heavy metals, and microbial inhabitants) and highlight emerging technologies that could be useful for systems-level investigations of AMR in the plastisphere.

Automated summary

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global health threat, with antibiotics, heavy metals, and microplastics potentially synergistically enhancing the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment. Experimental methods are crucial to quantify the presence of these pollutants and associated microbial communities in the natural environment. Current technologies are being used to characterize ecosystems affected by microplastics and their role in promoting AMR, while emerging technologies show promise for further investigating AMR in these environments.