Microbial communities colonising plastics during transition from the wastewater treatment plant to marine waters

Plastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are significant environmental threats. A study conducted mesocosm experiments on plastic surfaces transitioning from wastewater effluent to marine environments over 16 weeks found that plastic-colonizing communities shifted from wastewater-associated microorganisms to marine taxa. Some plastic-colonizing communities were selectively enriched, and microbial biofilms were susceptible to parasitism. However, relative AMR gene abundance declined over time, and plastics did not become enriched for key AMR genes after wastewater exposure.