微塑料对河水抗生素抗性基因的影响

微塑料和抗生素抗性基因都是环境中的新型污染物,两者的复合污染引发了一定的生态环境风险,成为近年的研究热点.本文采集了城市郊区河水,添加不易降解微塑料(聚氯乙烯,PVC)和水溶性微塑料(聚乙烯醇,PVA)进行曝气培养实验,采用高通量定量PCR技术,研究微塑料对河水抗生素抗性基因的影响.结果表明,空白对照河水、添加PVC的河水和添加PVA的河水抗性基因种类数分别为71、 87和95种,微塑料的存在显著增加了河水抗生素抗性基因种类,进而可能增加河流生态风险;曝气培养的河水中抗性基因的种类数和丰度有所减少,但是相对于空白对照组(2.8×10~9 copies·L~(-1)),添加具有水溶性的微塑料仍能显著增加河水抗性基因丰度(8.1×10~9 copies·L~(-1)),并且抗生素抗性基因丰度与可移动遗传元件呈显著正相关关系,说明可移动遗传元件可能通过基因横向转移机制影响抗生素抗性基因的赋存与演变.

Microplastics-Induced Shifts of Diversity and Abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in River Water

Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are both considered emerging contaminants of increasing concern because their combined pollution poses a serious risk to the ecological environment and human health. In this study, high-throughput quantitative PCR techniques were used to investigate the diversity and abundance of ARGs in river water, to which two different microplastics (PVC and PVA) were added for aerated incubation. The results showed that ARGs in river water were diverse, and microplastics could induce more types of ARGs. Although the number and abundance of ARGs decreased in all three treatments, which were cultivated for 14 d by aeration, compared to those in non-treated samples, the total abundance of ARGs in treatments aerated with MPs were higher than those aerated without MPs, especially in the samples treated with water-soluble microplastics (PVA). Significant correlations between the abundance of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were observed, implying that the occurrence of MGEs may potentially affect the transmission and distribution of ARGs through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in river water.