2023-11-02 13:50:32
Las microbial communities that grow in waste plastics of the rivers can harbor potentially pathogenic microbes and act as reservoirs of resistance genes to antibioticsaccording to an international study published in the scientific journal Microbiome and led by Joseph Christie-Olezafrom the Department of Biology of the University of the Balearic Islands.
The results also highlight the differences between the potential pathogens and the genes of antibiotic resistance that can house new and degraded plastics.
The types of pathogens extracted from the plastic and wood samples differed from those in the river water samples
The researchers characterized the microbial communities found on the surface of submerged plastics for seven days in it Sowe River (United Kingdom)a a kilometer of a plant of treatment wastewater, in February 2020.
The microbial communities of new plastics y aged were compared with those found on a control surface (madera) and the communities present in the river water.
The authors discovered that the plastic, wood and water samples they housed potentially pathogenic microbesbut that the types of pathogens extracted from the plastic and wood samples differed of those of the river water samples.
‘Opportunistic’ bacteria
The samples of plastic and wood contained potential pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter y Aeromonas —bacteria known as ‘opportunistic’ that pose a greater risk to people with compromised immune systems—while Water samples contained potential human pathogens Escherichia, Salmonella, Klebsiella y Streptococcus.
Similarly, the authors discovered that although the microorganisms extracted from all samples contained antimicrobial resistance genesthe resistance types differed between those of the plastic and wood samples and those of the water samples.
The authors highlight the importance of monitoring wastewater discharges due to their risks to human health and the environment.
When the authors compared the microbial communities growing on new and aged plastics, they found that P. aeruginosa (which can cause infections in hospitalized patients) was especially abundant in blood samples. degraded plastic.
They speculate that this could be because the Degraded plastics release greater amounts of organic compounds that favor microbial growth than new plastics.
They also found that the relative abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes present in microbial communities was higher in aged plastic samples than in new plastic ones, although they point out that the reasons are not clear.
The authors suggest that it is necessary to continue investigating the possible risks what’s wrong with it plastic pollution due to its ability to harbor and transport microbes potentially pathogenic and genes antibiotic resistance.
They also highlight the importance of monitor wastewater discharges due to its risks to human health and the environment.
Reference:
Zadjelovic, V., et al. “Microbial hitchhikers harbouring antimicrobial-resistance genes in the riverine plastisphere”. Microbiome (2023)
Fuente:
University of the Balearic Islands
Rights: Creative Commons.
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