Back to Search
Start Over
Microplastic pollution increases gene exchange in aquatic ecosystems.
- Source :
- Environmental Pollution; Jun2018, Vol. 237, p253-261, 9p
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Pollution by microplastics in aquatic ecosystems is accumulating at an unprecedented scale, emerging as a new surface for biofilm formation and gene exchange. In this study, we determined the permissiveness of aquatic bacteria towards a model antibiotic resistance plasmid, comparing communities that form biofilms on microplastics vs. those that are free-living. We used an exogenous and red-fluorescent E. coli donor strain to introduce the green-fluorescent broad-host-range plasmid pKJK5 which encodes for trimethoprim resistance. We demonstrate an increased frequency of plasmid transfer in bacteria associated with microplastics compared to bacteria that are free-living or in natural aggregates. Moreover, comparison of communities grown on polycarbonate filters showed that increased gene exchange occurs in a broad range of phylogenetically-diverse bacteria. Our results indicate horizontal gene transfer in this habitat could distinctly affect the ecology of aquatic microbial communities on a global scale. The spread of antibiotic resistance through microplastics could also have profound consequences for the evolution of aquatic bacteria and poses a neglected hazard for human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 02697491
- Volume :
- 237
- Database :
- Supplemental Index
- Journal :
- Environmental Pollution
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 129073312
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.058