Effects and mechanisms of polystyrene micro- and nano-plastics on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes from soil to lettuce

Guanghui Xu; Yanjun Li; Xiaolong Lin; Yong Yu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169293

Effects and mechanisms of polystyrene micro- and nano-plastics on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes from soil to lettuce

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 20:912:169293. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169293. Epub 2023 Dec 15.

Authors

Guanghui Xu¹, Yanjun Li², Xiaolong Lin², Yong Yu³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China.
² Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: yuyong@iga.ac.cn.

PMID: 38104810
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169293

Abstract

Effects of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil-plant systems are still unclear. To investigate the spread and mechanisms of ARGs from soil to lettuce, lettuce was exposed to soil spiked with two environmentally relevant concentrations of polystyrene MPs (100 μm) and NPs (100 nm). Results showed that microorganisms that carried ARGs in soil were increased after exposure to MPs/NPs, which led to an increase in ARGs in roots. NPs were absorbed by roots and can be transported to leaves. Analysis of transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics indicated that high concentration of NPs regulated the expression of related genes and proteins and improved the accumulation of flavonoids in the lettuce, therefore decreased the abundance of microorganisms that contained ARGs. Our work emphasizes the size and dose influences of MPs and NPs on the spread of ARGs from soil to plant.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Microplastics; Multi-omics; Nanoplastics; Spread.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
Genes, Bacterial
Lactuca
Microplastics
Plastics*
Polystyrenes*
Soil

Substances

Plastics
Polystyrenes
Microplastics
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Soil