Plastic pollution is ubiquitous worldwide. Smaller pieces of plastic (<5 mm) classified as microplastics (MPs) are of particular concern because they can be easily transported throughout the environment. As they travel, MPs can adsorb chemicals or nutrients and develop a biofilm housing a diverse microbial community, potentially containing bacterial pathogens. High- and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) MPs were incubated in mesocosm channels in river water (RW) and RW amended with treated wastewater (TWW) effluent to assess the impact on the presence of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) and pathogens in the MP biofilm. Samples were collected at 2, 6, and 10 weeks of incubation and analyzed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction markers for ARGs, integrase I1 (intI1), and the opportunistic pathogens Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbial diversity was significantly higher in MPs exposed to TWW, and no difference was observed in the alpha diversity among plastic types. After 10 weeks of exposure, both TWW and polymer type influenced the composition of the microbial community and produced significant increases in the abundance of intI1, S. maltophilia, and P. aeruginosa, but not of sulfonamide 1. This study supports the notion that MP in the environment may become reservoirs for pathogens and may facilitate transport of ARGs in environmental waters impacted by anthropogenic stressors.
Primary Presenter: Marirosa Molina, US Environmental Protection Agency (molina.marirosa@epa.gov)
Authors:
Marirosa Molina, US Environmental Protection Agency/ORD (molina.marirosa@epa.gov)
Stephanie Eytcheson, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (eytcheson.stephanie@epa.gov)
Thomas Purucker, US Environmental Protection Agency/ORD (purucker.tom@epa.gov)
Sarah Brown, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (brown.sarah@epa.gov)
John Darling, US Environmental Protection Agency/ORD (darling.John@epa.gov)
MICROPLASTICS AS VECTORS OF OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGENS AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT GENES IN WATERS IMPACTED BY TREATED WASTEWATER EFFLUENTS
Category
Scientific Sessions > SS024 Down the Drain and Down the River: The Transport, Fate and Impact of Micro- and Nanoplastic on Their Way to the Oceans
Description
Time: 06:30 PM
Date: 7/6/2023
Room: Mezzanine