Microplastics (MPs) – Bacterial Growth Associated with Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARG) in Indoor Air Explored

The abstract of a November 1, 2021, ACS Environmental Science and Technology paper https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04520 by researchers with China Nankai University reports that “… Although microplastics (MPs) are distributed in indoor environments in high abundance, information on the effect of MPs on a microbial community in an indoor environment is lacking. Here, we detected polymers (containing MPs and natural polymers), bacterial communities, and 18 kinds of ARGs in collected indoor dust samples. A significant correlation … between bacterial community composition and the abundance of MPs was observed … a significantly higher amount of ARG was found on MPs of poly(lactic acid) … In addition to the plastisphere in water and soil environments, MPs in an indoor environment may also affect the bacterial community and specifically enrich ARGs. Moreover, degradable MPs and nondegradable MPs may result in different health hazards due to their distinct effects on bacterial community …” #MicroPlastics #PlasticWaste #SingleUsePlastic @NKU1919