Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41444368›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Roles of micro/nanoplastics in the spread of antimicrobial resistance through conjugative gene transfer.

Yuanyuan Kang, Shu-Hong Gao, Yusheng Pan, Rui Gao, Tianyao Li, Lu Fan, Yiyi Su, Wanying Zhang, Zhigang Yu, Bin Liang and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

15 authors.

Yuanyuan Kang *State Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-0532-4824
Shu-Hong Gao *State Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China. gaoshuhong@hit.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3193-5357
Yusheng PanState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Rui GaoState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
Tianyao LiState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Lu FanDepartment of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4184-7211
Yiyi SuState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Wanying ZhangState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Zhigang YuAustralian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5352-2126
Bin LiangState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1235-3498
Jian-Qiang SuState Key Laboratory for Ecological Security of Regions and Cities, Institute of Urban Environment,, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1875-249X
Yi LuoState Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resource Recycling, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7707-708X
Yue WangSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, China. wangyue@tiangong.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4755-4620
Jianhua GuoAustralian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4732-9175
Aijie WangState Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Eco-Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China. waj0578@hit.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 52321005, 52070060, 52230004 and 52293441Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Guangdong Natural Science Foundation) 2024A1515010085Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission GXWD20231127195344001 and JCYJ20241202123735045
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The role of micro/nanoplastics (M/NPs) in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains insufficiently understood. Here, we examine how polystyrene (PS) M/NPs of varying sizes and concentrations affect AMR gene (ARG) transfer in model systems with gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis) donors. In these systems, the ARG transfer frequency is higher for intrageneric pairs than for intergeneric pairs. The 20- and 120-nm-sized PS broadly facilitate conjugation, whereas the 1-μm-sized PS selectively promotes ARG transfer to E. coli recipients, in addition to altering the expression of conjugation- and pili-associated genes. Notably, an environmentally relevant (0.1 mg/L) concentration of PS M/NPs facilitates AMR transfer in the tested systems, which correlates with increased reactive oxygen species levels, ATP levels, and cell membrane permeability in both donors and recipients. Collectively, our findings underscore the role of M/NPs in facilitating AMR spread in specific bacterial systems, providing valuable insights for understanding their potential ecological risk in water environments.

Indexed as

Conjugation, GeneticDrug Resistance, BacterialEnterococcus faecalisEscherichia coliGene Transfer, HorizontalMicroplasticsNanoparticlesAdenosine TriphosphateAnti-Bacterial AgentsPolystyrenesReactive Oxygen SpeciesAdenosine TriphosphateAnti-Bacterial AgentsMicroplasticsPolystyrenesReactive Oxygen Species

Identifiers

PMID41444368
PMCPMC12855274

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.