Underestimated Risks of Microplastics on the Environmental Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Microplastics (MPs) has aroused growing environmental, ecological and health concerns due to their biotoxicity and non-negligible roles in promoting the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Especially, the formation of biofilm on MP surfaces in an aquatic environment is supposed to drastically enhance the MPs' impacts due to enhanced microbial contact and an altered local environment, but the detailed risks and MPs-microbe interactions remain poorly understood. This Viewpoint sheds light on the phenomenon and mechanisms of MP-promoted ARGs propagation, underscores the underestimated risks of ARG spread in real water environments due to biased microplastic detection methods as well as the limited knowledge of combined pollution and inappropriate risk assessment methods, and discusses the future research needs for risk control.

Automated summary

This viewpoint discusses the impacts of biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces in aquatic environments in promoting the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). It highlights the underestimated risks of ARG spread in real water environments due to biased microplastic detection methods and limited knowledge of combined pollution and inappropriate risk assessment methods.