Microplastics enhance the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in mariculture sediments by enriching host bacteria and promoting horizontal gene transfer

Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pose significant challenges to the One Health framework due to their intricate and multifaceted ecological and environmental impacts. However, the understanding of how MP properties influence ARG prevalence in mariculture sediments remains limited. Herein, the polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs with different sizes (20–120 μm and 0.5–2.0 mm) were selected to evaluate their impacts and underlying mechanisms driving ARGs dissemination. The results showed that PS and PVC MPs increased the relative abundance of ARGs by 1.41–2.50-fold and 2.01–2.84-fold, respectively, compared with control, particularly high-risk genes. The polymer type…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 42307515, 42077115, 42377238
• KR
  Key Research and Development Project of Hainan Province

  Award: ZDYF2022SHFZ018
• NS
  Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Shandong Province

  Award: ZR2021JQ13
• NS
  National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars