Viruses on Plastic Pollution May Be Fueling Antibiotic Resistance
Plastic pollution is often considered an eyesore or a danger to wildlife. But scientists have discovered that discarded plastic could also reshape the microbial world in ways that directly affect human health.
A new perspective article published in Biocontaminant suggests that viruses living on plastic debris could be quietly accelerating the rate of antibiotic resistance, adding a worrying new dimension to the global plastic crisis, although more research is still needed.
Once plastic enters rivers, soils or oceans, it does not stay inert for long. Instead, it is colonized by dense microbial communities – like bacteria, fungi and viruses – which transform its surface into a thriving ecosystem. These plastic-associated biofilms, known collectively as the plastisphere, are already recognized as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes. Now, researchers say viruses within these communities may play a central and largely overlooked role in the spread of these genes.
Learn more: Some compostable dishes contain gluten and can transfer it to food
Why plastic creates a perfect home for resistance
Plastic provides microbes with a rare feature in nature: a stable, durable surface that drifts through diverse environments. In the plastisphere, microorganisms cluster together closely, exchanging nutrients, chemical signals, and genetic material. This crowded lifestyle creates ideal conditions for the accumulation of antibiotic resistance genes.
While previous research has focused largely on bacteria, this new study focuses attention on viruses, which outnumber all other biological entities on Earth. Many of these viruses infect bacteria and become deeply integrated into the ecology of the plastisphere.
“Most research has focused on bacteria in the plastisphere, but viruses are everywhere in these communities and interact closely with their hosts,” explained corresponding author Dong Zhu in a press release. “Our work suggests that plastisphere viruses may act as hidden drivers of the spread of antibiotic resistance. »
Because plastics move freely – flowing from cities to oceans or settling in agricultural soils – they can also carry resistant microbes and their viruses across environmental boundaries, extending the reach of resistance far beyond its original source.
How viruses contribute to the spread of resistance
Viruses contribute to antibiotic resistance primarily through horizontal gene transfer, a process in which genetic material moves between organisms without reproducing. When viruses infect bacteria, they can accidentally package resistance genes and transmit them to new bacterial hosts. In plastisphere biofilms, where microbes are densely packed, this gene transfer can occur more frequently and across a wider range of species, including potential human pathogens.
Some viruses also carry helper genes that improve bacterial survival under stress. Exposure to antibiotics, pollutants or harsh environmental conditions can favor the bacteria that harbor these viruses, thereby indirectly strengthening resistant strains.
The researchers also found that viral behavior is not uniform across environments. In aquatic plastispheres, viruses tend to adopt life strategies favoring gene exchange, potentially amplifying the risk of resistance. In soils, however, viruses can more often suppress resistant bacteria by killing their hosts outright.
The research team recommends future studies directly measuring gene exchange between viruses and bacteria on plastics to improve detection of virus-encoded resistance genes. Such work could ultimately inform environmental monitoring, waste management policies, and strategies to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance before this hidden pathway becomes an even greater threat to public health.
This article does not offer medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Learn more: Simple two-step process can remove microplastics from drinking water
Article sources
Our Discovermagazine.com editors use peer-reviewed research and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review the articles for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. See the sources used below for this article:
