Regulation of ARGs abundance by biofilm colonization on microplastics under selective pressure of antibiotics in river water environment

Interactions of microplastics (MPs) biofilm with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotics in aquatic environments have made microplastic biofilm an issue of keen scholarly interest. The process of biofilm formation and the degree of ARGs enrichment in the presence of antibiotic-selective pressure and the impact on the microbial community need to be further investigated. In this paper, the selective pressure of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and illumination conditions were investigated to affect the physicochemical properties, biomass, and extracellular polymer secretion of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastic biofilm. In addition, relative copy numbers of nine ARGs were analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). In the presence of CIP, microorganisms in the water and microplastic biofilm were more inclined to carry associated ARGs (2–3 times higher), which had a contributing effect on ARGs enrichment. The process of pre-microplastic biofilm formation might have an inhibitory effect on ARGs (total relative abundance up to 0.151) transfer and proliferation compared to the surrounding water (total relative abundance up to 0.488). However, in the presence of CIP stress, microplastic biofilm maintained the abundance of ARGs (from 0.151 to 0.149) better compared to the surrounding water (from 0.488 to 0.386). Therefore, microplastic biofilm act as abundance buffer island of ARGs stabilizing the concentration of ARGs. In addition, high-throughput analyses showed the presence of antibiotic-resistant (Pseudomonas) and pathogenic (Vibrio) microorganisms in biofilm under different conditions. The above research deepens our understanding of ARGs enrichment in biofilm and provides important insights into the ecological risks of interactions between ARGs, antibiotics, and microplastic biofilm.