Alteration of microbial mediated carbon cycle and antibiotic resistance genes during plastisphere formation in coastal area

Abstract

Microorganisms can attach on the surface of microplastics (MPs) through biological fouling process to form a diverse community called the "plastisphere", which has attracted extensive attention. Although the microbial structure and composition of biofilm have been studied, the knowledge of its microbial function and ecological risk is still limited. In this study, we investigated how the surface properties of MPs affect the biofilm communities and metabolic features under different environmental conditions, and explored the biofilm enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The results showed that the incubation time, habitat and MPs aging state significantly influenced the structure and composition of biofilm microbial communities, and a small amount of pathogens have been found in the MPs-attached biofilm. The microbial carbon utilization capacity of the biofilm in different incubation habitats varies greatly with highest metabolism capacity appear in the river. The utilization efficiency of different carbon sources is polymer > carbohydrate > amino acid > carboxylic acids > amine/amide, which indicates that the biofilm communities have selectivity between different types of carbon sources. More importantly, ARGs were detected in all the MPs samples and showed a trend of estuary > river > marine. The aged MPs can accumulate more ARGs than the virgin items. In general, MPs in the aquatic environment may become a carrier for pathogens and ARGs to spread to other environment, which may enhance their potential risks to the ecosystem and human health.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Metabolic function; Microbial communities; Microplastic; Weathering.