Academic Journal
Metagenomic characterization of bacterial communities on beach macroplastics: Insights into antimicrobial resistance and virulence.
| Τίτλος: | Metagenomic characterization of bacterial communities on beach macroplastics: Insights into antimicrobial resistance and virulence. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Athira AS; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India; Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, India., Sreejith VN; KSCSTE-Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode, India., Megha C; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India., Athira PS; Department of Marine Biology, University of Bremen, Germany., Reshmi K; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India., Murugadas V; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India., Joseph TC; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India. Electronic address: tomscjoseph@gmail.com. |
| Πηγή: | Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) [Environ Pollut] 2026 Sep 15; Vol. 405, pp. 128213. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 11. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8804476 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6424 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02697491 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Pollut Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Barking, Essex, England : Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, c1987- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Bacteria*/genetics , Bacteria*/classification , Drug Resistance, Bacterial*/genetics , Bathing Beaches* , Microbiota*, Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics ; Virulence ; Metagenomics ; India ; Seashore ; Metagenome |
| Περίληψη: | Macroplastic debris in coastal environments provides stable substrates for microbial colonization, yet comparative assessments with natural substrates remain limited. This study investigated bacterial communities associated with beach macroplastics collected from four sites along the Kochi coast, Kerala, India (Fort Kochi, Cherai, Puthenthode, and Puthuvypin) during the pre-monsoon season, and compared them with those colonizing natural inanimate substrates (driftwood, seaweed, and shells). Composite sampling across multiple transects was employed, and shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to characterize taxonomic composition, functional pathways, antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), and virulence factors. Across all samples, Pseudomonadota (average ∼64.8%) dominated, followed by Bacillota, Actinomycetota, and Bacteroidota. Plastic-associated communities showed greater dominance of specific genera, including Vibrio, Alteromonas, and Pseudoalteromonas, whereas natural substrates exhibited more evenly distributed taxa (Streptomyces, Marinobacter, Sulfitobacter etc). Functional annotation revealed the presence of core metabolic pathways across all samples, while xenobiotic degradation and lipid metabolism pathways were more prominently represented in plastic-associated communities, particularly at urban-influenced sites. A total of 42 ARGs belonging to eight antibiotic classes were identified, with β-lactam resistance genes constituting ∼42% of detected ARGs. Plastic-associated samples showed broader ARG profiles, including bla (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Coastal microbiome; Macroplastics; Metagenomics; Natural inanimate substrates; Virulence factors |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260512 Date Completed: 20260710 Latest Revision: 20260710 |
| Update Code: | 20260711 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128213 |
| PMID: | 42119966 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-6424 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128213 |