Viruses On Plastics May Fuel Antibiotic Resistance, Warn Researchers

Viruses living on plastic surfaces could be contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance, raising global environmental and public health concerns, researchers said in a new perspective article, highlighting the need for more research on viral behaviour on plastics. Plastics entering natural environments quickly become coated with microbial biofilms called the 'plastisphere', known to be hotspots for for antibiotic resistance genes, the team, including researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. The article, published in the journal Biocontaminant, highlighted that viruses -- which are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth -- could be key players in moving the antibiotic resistance genes between microbes.

"Most research has focused on bacteria in the plastisphere, but viruses are everywhere in these communities and interact closely with their hosts," author Dong Zhu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

"Our work suggests that plastisphere viruses may act as hidden drivers of antibiotic resistance dissemination," Zhu said.

The researchers explained that viruses can transfer genetic material between bacteria through a process called 'horizontal gene transfer'.

In plastisphere biofilms, where microbes are densely packed, viruses may more easily shuttle resistance genes across species, including potential pathogens, they said.

Viruses may also carry metabolic genes that can boost bacterial survival under stressful conditions, such as exposure to antibiotics or pollutants, indirectly favouring resistant microbes, the team said.

The authors "propose that plastisphere viruses may act as hidden drivers of ARG (antibiotic resistance genes) dissemination by mediating horizontal gene transfer, broadly interacting with prokaryotes, and encoding resistance-related auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs)." The researchers also noted that viral behaviour appears to vary in different environments.

In aquatic plastispheres, viruses are more likely to adopt life strategies that promote gene transfer, potentially increasing resistance risks, while in soils they may instead limit resistant bacteria by killing their hosts, they said.

The contrasting roles highlight the need to consider environmental context when assessing the risks of plastic pollution, the team said.

They added that future studies should directly measure gene exchange between viruses and bacteria on plastics and refine methods for detecting virus encoded resistance genes. 

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