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Plastic Leachate Exposure Drives Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence in Marine Bacterial Communities

Eric J. Vlaanderen, View ORCID ProfileTimothy M. Ghaly, Lisa R. Moore, View ORCID ProfileAmaranta Focardi, View ORCID ProfileIan T. Paulsen, View ORCID ProfileSasha G. Tetu
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.13.528379
Eric J. Vlaanderen
1College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville
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Timothy M. Ghaly
2School of Natural Sciences Macquarie University, Sydney
3ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney
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Lisa R. Moore
2School of Natural Sciences Macquarie University, Sydney
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Amaranta Focardi
4Climate Change Cluster (C3), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney
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Ian T. Paulsen
2School of Natural Sciences Macquarie University, Sydney
3ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney
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  • For correspondence: sasha.tetu@mq.edu.au ian.paulsen@mq.edu.au
Sasha G. Tetu
2School of Natural Sciences Macquarie University, Sydney
3ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney
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  • For correspondence: sasha.tetu@mq.edu.au ian.paulsen@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

Plastic pollution is a serious global problem, with more than 12 million tonnes of plastic waste entering the oceans every year. Plastic debris can have considerable impacts on microbial community structure and functions in marine environments, and has been associated with an enrichment in pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. However, our understanding of these impacts is largely restricted to microbial assemblages on plastic surfaces. It is therefore unclear whether these effects are driven by the surface properties of plastics, providing an additional niche for certain microbes residing in biofilms, and/or chemicals leached from plastics, the effects of which could extend to surrounding planktonic bacteria. Here, we examine the effects of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic leachate exposure on the relative abundance of genes associated with bacterial pathogenicity and AMR within a seawater microcosm community. We show that PVC leachate, in the absence of plastic surfaces, drives an enrichment in AMR and virulence genes. In particular, leachate exposure significantly enriches AMR genes that confer multidrug, aminoglycoside and peptide antibiotic resistance. Additionally, enrichment of genes involved in the extracellular secretion of virulence proteins was observed among pathogens of marine organisms. This study provides the first evidence that chemicals leached from plastic particles alone can enrich genes related to microbial pathogenesis within a bacterial community, expanding our knowledge of the environmental impacts of plastic pollution with potential consequences for human and ecosystem health.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Competing interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 14, 2023.
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Plastic Leachate Exposure Drives Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence in Marine Bacterial Communities
Eric J. Vlaanderen, Timothy M. Ghaly, Lisa R. Moore, Amaranta Focardi, Ian T. Paulsen, Sasha G. Tetu
bioRxiv 2023.02.13.528379; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.13.528379
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Plastic Leachate Exposure Drives Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence in Marine Bacterial Communities
Eric J. Vlaanderen, Timothy M. Ghaly, Lisa R. Moore, Amaranta Focardi, Ian T. Paulsen, Sasha G. Tetu
bioRxiv 2023.02.13.528379; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.13.528379

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