Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41144667›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

Discarded cigarette butts as overlooked reservoirs and amplifiers of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in urban green spaces.

Jia-Yang Xu, Yi-Tian Yu, Shuai Du, Luo-Qin Shen, Qi Zhang, Haifeng Qian, Tian-Gui Cai, Yi-Fei Wang, Jun Zhao, Hong-Zhe Li and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Phages drive the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes by facilitating host adaptation to heavy metal stress.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Viable, Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacteria Recovered from E-Liquids Used with Commercial Electronic Cigarettes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Jia-Yang Xu *State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Yi-Tian Yu *State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Shuai DuState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Luo-Qin ShenState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Qi ZhangInstitute for Advanced Study, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China.
Haifeng QianInstitute for Advanced Study, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0807-9991
Tian-Gui CaiCollege of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Yi-Fei WangState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Jun ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Hong-Zhe LiState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Chengdong ZhangSchool of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1100-2584
Dong ZhuState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.ORCID 0000-0002-0826-6423

Funding

MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 22193062MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 42222701MOST | NSFC | National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (NSF for Distinguished Young Scholars) 22125601Ningbo Yongjiang Talent Project 2022A-163-GYouth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS YIPA) 2023321
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cigarette butts are widely discarded in urban green spaces, yet their microbial health risks remain poorly understood. In a nationwide survey across China, we investigated the presence, sources, health risks, and drivers of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and potential pathogens in discarded cigarette butts. Shotgun metagenomic and full-length 16S ribosomal rRNA (rRNA) sequencing revealed that cigarette butts harbored significantly higher abundances of ARGs and bacterial pathogens than plant litter or soil. Health risk assessment further showed that cigarette butts carried ARGs with greater mobility, clinical relevance, and pathogenic potential. Genomic analyses highlighted enrichment of ARG-carrying pathogens, particularly Enterobacteriaceae and

Indexed as

BacteriaDrug Resistance, BacterialDrug Resistance, MicrobialTobacco ProductsBiofilmsChinaGenes, BacterialGene Transfer, HorizontalHumansRNA, Ribosomal, 16SRNA, Ribosomal, 16Santibiotic resistance geneshealth riskspotential pathogenssocioeconomic conditionsurban greenspace

Identifiers

PMID41144667
PMCPMC12595418

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.