SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
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2021
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IF 7.963
Zhiqi Wang,Jingfeng Gao,Yifan Zhao,Huihui Dai,Jingxin Jia,Da Zhang
Microplastics (MPs) and pharmaceuticals are common emerging pollutants in sewage, and their coexistence may have more negative effects on the environments. This study chose tetracycline (TC), ampicillin (AMP) and triclosan (TCS) to investigate the responses of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and microbial communities on different MPs (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE)) biofilms (plastisphere). The adsorption capacity of three pharmaceuticals on PVC and PE decreased in the order of AMP > TC > TCS. PE was more conducive to microbial attachment than PVC. MPs led to the increase of the total copies of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in the sewage. Importantly, multidrug ARGs and MGEs were enriched on plastisphere. Furthermore, the co-occurrence of TC and MPs led to higher risks of spreading ARGs and MGEs. In addition, potential pathogenic bacteria Legionella , Mycobacterium , Neisseria and Arcobacter were more abundant on plastisphere than those in sewage, and these bacteria might be the hosts for ARGs and MGEs. This study showed that plastisphere could be repositories of ARGs and MGEs in sewage and accumulated potential pathogenic bacteria.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
CHEMOSPHERE
·
2023
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IF 8.8
Yajun Tian,Jianyu Zhu,Chuhan Ying,Hongwei Luo,Shoufeng Zhang,Liqiu Zhang,Renna Li,Jun Li
Microplastics (MPs), antibiotics and microorganism ubiquitously coexist in aquatic environments. MPs inevitably undergo photoaging processes in aquatic environments, affecting the interactions between MPs and antibiotics and the antibiotic resistance of microorganism. In this study, the impact of photoaging processes of MPs on their adsorption behavior of tetracycline (TC) and related formation of antibiotic resistance were investigated. It was found that the photoaging processes significantly increased the adsorption capacity of TC onto MPs, with the Q e increasing from 0.387 to 0.507 mg/g at 288 K and from 0.507 to 0.688 mg/g at 308 K. The site energy distribution (SED) analysis further confirmed that the enhanced adsorption capacity was attributed to more high-energy adsorption sites acquired from MPs photoaging processes. Moreover, the enhanced adsorption of TC further facilitated the formation of seven antibiotic resistance genes (i.e., tetA , tetB , tetC , tetD , tetE , tetG , tetK ) when MPs adsorbed with TC was covered by biofilm. This study helps comprehensively understand the environmental behaviors of co-existing MPs, antibiotics and microorganisms, providing a theoretical basis for evaluating and mitigating their coexistence risks.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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2025
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IF 11.3
Yan Ding,Jing Wang,Yihan Chen,Yaning Yang,Xiaowei Liu
Bacterial biofilms are hotspots for the natural transformation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Antibiotics and heavy metals at the sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) are ubiquitous in water environments, but their impact on the ARG dissemination via natural transformation in biofilms and the biofilm development remains poorly understood. This study found that the individual stressors including tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and Zn at the sub-MIC levels, significantly enhanced ARG transformation. Notably, Zn exhibited the most obvious effect, increasing transformation frequencies by up to 4.62-fold in B. subtilis and 6.42-fold in A. baylyi biofilms. Their combined stressors increased the higher ARG transformation compared to the individual. These stressors significantly elevated ARG transformation by stimulating reactive oxygen species generation, increasing membrane permeability, and enhancing polysaccharide production. Meanwhile, the bacterial adaptability in biofilm to stressors was achieved via ARG transformation, and the biofilm growth was increased by 25.4 % in B. subtilis and 49.6 % in A. baylyi , respectively, compared to biofilms without natural transformation. Except for ARG uptake via transformation, the enhanced bacterial adaptability in biofilms to stressors can also be attributed to the expression of the plasmid-borne SOS response-related genes. These findings broaden the understanding of the influence of sub-MIC stressors in ARG dissemination in biofilm.
研究领域:
微生物学
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环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
·
2025
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IF 10.3
Zixuan Zhao,Bin Luo,Tao Cao,Tongtong Bai,Yifan Sun,Hengrui Liu,Li Zhang,Jun Xie,Jun Wang,Huakang Li,Zichen Duan,Zixuan Gao,Xiaojuan Wang,Jie Gu,Xun Qian,James M. Tiedje
The transmission and transformation patterns of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the soil-onion continuum under the application of organic fertilizers in actual agricultural cultivation are still unknown. This study systematically analyzed the occurrence characteristics of ARGs in soil and onion (roots and bulbs) under the application of organic fertilizer from livestock manure, and revealed the response mechanism of phenolic metabolites in roots. The results showed that fertilization promoted the enrichment of ARGs in the soil and onions. The abundance of ARGs in the bulbs of the pig manure and sheep manure treatment groups was 4 times and 2 times as high as that in the unfertilized group, respectively. In comparison to the bulbs, a higher abundance of ARGs was observed in the roots of onions. The 11 ARGs, including high-risk variants such as tetX and mexE , were detected co-occurring in both onion tissues and the surrounding soil. Fertilization treatment significantly changed the community composition of ARGs-related host bacteria in onion tissues. Livestock manure-based organic fertilizers elevated the potential exposure risk of ARGs in bulbs by more than 20%. Five strains of multidrug-resistant endophytic bacteria (including Streptomyces and Pseudomonas ) were isolated from the main edible parts of onion bulbs. It is worth noting that this study found that kaempferol (35-140 μg/L) and p-coumaric acid (2.5-10 μg/L) significantly enhanced the conjugation and transfer of the RP4 plasmid in the onion endophytes ( Bacillus sp. and Paenibacillus sp.) and soil microbial communities. Root exudates were the predominant factors regulating the transmission of ARGs in the soil-onion system.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
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农业科学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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2025
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IF 11.3
Chenxi Li,Linjie Wang,Qi Dai,Yang Chong,Satoshi Utsunomiya,Honggui Wang,Ya Zhang,Jie Han
The global dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) poses an increasingly urgent threat to both environmental and human health. The extensive use of chiral permethrin (PM), the most popular synthetic type I pyrethroid insecticide worldwide, has led to its increased detection in aquatic environments. However, our understanding of PM's role in spreading ARGs is still limited. Here, we systematically assessed the effects of two chiral isomers of 1R-cis-PM (CPM) and 1R-trans-PM (TPM) on the dissemination of ARGs in the aquatic environments by using a natural transformation (NT) model comprising plasmid pWH1274 and Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. It was found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) was the main factor facilitating the NT of ARGs mediated by CPM and TPM, although their respective production mechanisms exhibited distinct pathways: CPM generates ROS primarily through the primary electron transport chain (ETC), whereas TPM does so via a secondary ETC. Furthermore, CPM enhanced NT by improving bacterial competent state, while TPM promotes it by enhancing recombination. It was confirmed that both CPM and TPM have the potential to accelerate the spread of ARGs through distinct mechanisms. These findings will help us understand that different chiral isomers may pose risks through distinct mechanisms.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
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毒理学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
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2021
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IF 7.658
Yuqian Jia,Bingqing Yang,Jingru Shi,Dan Fang,Zhiqiang Wang,Yuan Liu
The widespread dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is a serious problem and constitutes a threat for public health. Plasmid-mediated conjugative transfer of ARGs is recognized as one of the most important pathways accounting for this global crisis. Inhibiting the conjugative transfer of resistant gene-bearing plasmids provides a feasible strategy to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. Here we found that melatonin , a neurohormone secreted from pineal gland, substantially inhibited the horizontal transfer of RP4–7 plasmid in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, melatonin could also suppress the conjugal frequency of different types of clinical plasmids that carrying colistin resistance gene mcr-1 rather than bla NDM or tet (X) genes. Next, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the inhibitory effect of melatonin on conjugation. As a result, we showed that the addition of melatonin markedly reduced bacterial membrane permeability and inhibited the oxidative stress. In line with these observations, the conjugative transfer-related genes were regulated accordingly. Most importantly, we uncovered that melatonin disrupted bacterial proton motive force (PMF), which is an essential bacterial energy metabolism substance and is important for conjugative process. Collectively, these results provide implications that some non-antibiotics such as melatonin are effective inhibitors of transmission of ARGs and raise a promising strategy to confront the increasing resistant infections.
研究领域:
微生物学
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药理学
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分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
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2017
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IF 5.651
Wei Sun,Xun Qian,Jie Gu,Xiao-Juan Wang,Li Zhang,Ai-Yun Guo
High concentrations of residual arsanilic acid occur in pig manure due to its use in feed to promote growth and control diseases. This study compared the effects of arsanilic acid at three concentrations (0, 325, and 650 mg/kg dry pig manure) on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the microbial community during anaerobic digestion. Addition of 650 mg/kg arsanilic acid enhanced the absolute abundances of tetC , sul2 , ermB , and gyrA more than twofold in the digestion product. Redundancy analysis indicated that the change in the microbial community structure was the main driver of variation in the ARGs profile. The As resistance gene arsC co-occurred with four ARGs and intI1 , possibly causing the increase in ARGs under pressure by arsanilic acid. High arsanilic acid concentrations can increase the risk of ARGs occurring in anaerobic digestion products. The amount of arsanilic acid used as a feed additive should be controlled.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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2024
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IF 12.2
Qiurong Zhang,Huixian Zhou,Ping Jiang,Lijun Wu,Xiang Xiao
The spread of bacteriophage-borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) poses a realistic threat to human health. Nanomaterials, as important emerging pollutants, have potential impacts on ARGs dissemination in aquatic environments. However, little is known about its role in transductive transfer of ARGs mediated by bacteriophage in the presence of microplastics. Therefore, this study comprehensively investigated the influence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the transfer of bacteriophage-encoded ARGs in planktonic Escherichia coli and microplastic-attached biofilm. AgNPs exposure facilitated the phage transduction in planktonic and microplastic-attached bacteria at ambient concentration of 0.1 mg/L. Biological binding mediated by phage-specific recognition, rather than physical aggregation conducted by hydrophilicity and ζ-potential, dominated the bacterial adhesion of AgNPs. The aggregated AgNPs in turn resulted in elevated oxidative stress and membrane destabilization, which promoted the bacteriophage infection to planktonic bacteria. AgNPs exposure could disrupt colanic acid biosynthesis and then reduce the thickness of biofilm on microplastics, contributing to the transfer of phage-encoded ARGs. Moreover, the roughness of microplastics also affected the performance of AgNPs on the transductive transfer of ARGs in biofilms. This study reveals the compound risks of nanomaterials and microplastics in phage-borne ARGs dissemination and highlights the complexity in various environmental scenarios.
研究领域:
微生物学
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环境科学
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公共卫生
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
·
2024
·
IF 7.4
Xiaowei Liu,Chuang Huang,Hongxia Yu,Yaning Yang,Lulu Ma,Bin Zhao,Tianyang Zhong,Lilan Zhang,Weihua Peng,Wenwen Gong,Yan Ding
Microplastics (MPs) provide a specific habitat for bacterial adhesion and the adsorption of extracellular DNA (eDNA), making them hotspots for the transformation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. However, the heterogeneous mechanism of ARG regulation by quorum sensing (QS) in MP biofilms remains unclear. This study demonstrated that QS signals, including C8-HSL, 3-oxo-C10-HSL, and C12-HSL, were detected at ng/L levels in Bacillus subtilis biofilms colonized on MPs. The addition of these three AHLs enhanced natural transformation by 1–2 orders of magnitude in both MP and natural substrate (NS) biofilms, while QS inhibitors decreased transformation frequencies by 2 orders of magnitude. Moreover, transformation frequencies in MP biofilms increased 6.0-fold under QS regulation mediated by AHLs, compared to a 2.5-fold increase in NS biofilms. QS-regulated biofilm formation and EPS secretion were found to be responsible for ARG dissemination in MP biofilms, as indicated by the positive correlation between transformation frequencies and EPS variation. Additionally, mRNA expression analysis revealed that activation and inhibition of the QS system in MP biofilms regulated the expression of natural transformation-related genes, including epsG (regulating EPS secretion) and recO (regulating eDNA transformation). These results highlight the significant influence of the QS system on ARG dissemination through heterogeneous biofilm formation and EPS secretion in MP biofilms. Understanding the effect and mechanism of QS on ARG natural transformation provides new insights into controlling ARG spread by targeting QS in host bacteria within MP biofilms.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
·
2025
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IF 11.3
Kai Yang,Fei Xu,Xinyu Xing,Jing Wei,Qing-Lin Chen,Jian-Qiang Su,Li Cui
The pervasive presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in various ecosystems threatens global health, especially in persistent biofilm states. Both anthropogenic and natural surfaces in environments provide ideal habitats for biofilm development. Microplastics (MPs), as emerging and rapidly proliferating anthropogenic pollutants, are of particular concern due to their unique physicochemical properties and ubiquity across environments. However, it remains unclear whether biofilms on MPs pose a higher AMR risk compared with natural surfaces. Here, we employed an integrative approach combining phenotypic and genotypic AMR analysis via single-cell spectroscopy and high-throughput quantitative PCR to systematically compare AMR risks on 5 MPs (polyethylene, polystyrene, poly(vinyl chloride), polylactic acid, and Tetra Pak) and 3 natural surfaces (wood, rock, and glass) in an urban aquatic ecosystem. Our results revealed that MPs harbored a higher proportion of metabolically active antibiotic-resistant bacteria and more high-risk antibiotic resistance genes than natural surfaces. By incorporating phenotypic and genotypic AMR with three additional biofilm-related risk factors, including biofilm biomass, microbial activity, and pathogen abundance, the health risk of AMR was quantified and found to be highly dependent on surface types. MPs exhibited, on average, a 10-fold higher health risk than natural surfaces. A structural equation model further identified surface hydrophobicity and microbial diversity as pivotal factors determining AMR risks across different surfaces. This systematic comparison provides new insights into the real-world environmental impact of MPs pollution and underscores the necessity of integrating plastic pollution control into AMR management strategies.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
·
公共卫生
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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2017
·
IF 6.065
Mingming Sun,Mao Ye,Wentao Jiao,Yanfang Feng,Pingfeng Yu,Manqiang Liu,Jiaguo Jiao,Xiaojia He,Kuan Liu,Yuanchao Zhao,Jun Wu,Xin Jiang,Feng Hu
The emerging mixed contamination of antibiotics and microplastics in greenhouse soil has made the control of antibiotic resistant gene (ARG) transmission a novel challenge. In this work, surfactant sophorolipid was applied to enhance the dissipation of tetracycline (TC) and tet genes in the presence of microplastics in greenhouse soil. During 49 days of incubation, soil bacteria and phages were both found to be the crucial reservoirs of ARGs. Meanwhile, microplastic’s presence significantly inhibited the dissipation of TC and ARGs in the soil. However, sophorolipid application was proved to outweigh the negative impact caused by microplastic existence, and lead to the highest dissipation of soil TC and ARGs. Significant positive correlation was detected between the dissipation rate of water-soluble and exchangeable TC content and bacteria/phage co-mediated ARG levels. This also held true between the two fractions of soil TC and the ratio of ARG level in the bacteria to that in the phages (B ARGs /P ARGs ). The opposite impacts of microplastic presence and sophorolipid amendment on the TC/ARG dissipation found in this work provides new information for understanding ARG transmission between bacteria and phages in the mixed contaminated greenhouse soil.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
WATER RESEARCH
·
2019
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IF 7.913
Xiaojian Wu,Jie Pan,Meng Li,Yao Li,Mark Bartlam,Yingying Wang
Microplastics have been found to be ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems , providing a novel substrate for biofilm formation. Here, we incubated biofilm on microplastics and two natural substrates (rock and leaf) under a controlled environment to investigate the differences of microbial community structure, antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles, and ARG microbial hosts between biofilms on three types of substrates. Results from high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene revealed that microplastic biofilm had a distinctive community structure. Network analyses suggested that microplastic biofilm possessed the highest node connected community, but with lower average path length, network diameter and modularity compared with biofilm on two natural particles. Metagenomic analyses further revealed microplastic biofilm with broad-spectrum and distinctive resistome. Specifically, according to taxonomic annotation of ARG microbial hosts, two opportunisitic human pathogens ( Pseudomonas monteilii , Pseudomonas mendocina ) and one plant pathogen ( Pseudomonas syringae ) were detected only in the microplastic biofilm, but not in biofilms formed on natural substrates. Our findings suggest that microplastic is a novel microbial niche and may serve as a vector for ARGs and pathogens to new environment in river water, generating freshwater environmental risk and exerting adverse impacts on human health.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）