Constance L Tulloch, Rafael Bargiela, Gwion B Williams, Tatyana N Chernikova, Benjamin M Cotterell, Elizabeth M H Wellington, Joseph Christie-Oleza, David N Thomas, Davey L Jones, Peter N Golyshin
BACKGROUND: Plastics pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are two major environmental threats, but potential connections between plastic associated biofilms, the 'plastisphere', and dissemination of AMR genes are not well explored. RESULTS: We conducted mesocosm experiments tracking microbial community changes on plastic surfaces transitioning from wastewater effluent to marine environments over 16 weeks. Commonly used plastics, polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) incubated in wastewater effluent, river water, estuarine water, and in the seawater for 16 weeks, were analysed via 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenome sequencing...
April 29, 2024: Environmental microbiome