Overview
- A peer‑reviewed perspective in Biocontaminant by Xue Peng Chen, Di Wu, and Dong Zhu posits that viruses living on plastic biofilms may help disseminate antibiotic resistance.
- Plastics in natural settings rapidly develop biofilms known as the plastisphere, which are recognized hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes.
- The authors highlight viral horizontal gene transfer in dense plastisphere communities and note some viruses carry auxiliary genes that can boost bacterial survival under stress.
- Reported effects vary by habitat, with aquatic plastispheres favoring gene exchange while soil settings may suppress resistant bacteria through virus‑mediated host killing.
- The piece calls for direct measurements of virus–bacteria gene exchange on plastics, improved methods to detect virus‑encoded resistance genes, and inclusion of viral ecology in One Health monitoring and plastic waste management.