Microbial Bioindicators for Monitoring the Impact of Emerging Contaminants on Soil Health in the European Framework

Andrea Visca, Luciana Di Gregorio (), Manuela Costanzo, Elisa Clagnan, Lorenzo Nolfi, Roberta Bernini, Alberto Orgiazzi, Arwyn Jones, Francesco Vitali, Stefano Mocali and Annamaria Bevivino
Additional contact information
Andrea Visca: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Luciana Di Gregorio: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Manuela Costanzo: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Elisa Clagnan: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Lorenzo Nolfi: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Roberta Bernini: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, 00100 Viterbo, Italy
Alberto Orgiazzi: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Via E. Fermi, 2749, 21027 Varese, Italy
Arwyn Jones: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Via E. Fermi, 2749, 21027 Varese, Italy
Francesco Vitali: Research Center for Agriculture and Environment, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AA), Via di Lanciola, 12A, 50023 Florence, Italy
Stefano Mocali: Research Center for Agriculture and Environment, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-AA), Via di Lanciola, 12A, 50023 Florence, Italy
Annamaria Bevivino: Department for Sustainability, ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Antibiotic resistance (AR) is recognized by the World Health Organization as a major threat to human health, and recent studies highlight the role of microplastics (MPs) in its spread. MPs in the environment may act as vectors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Bacterial communities on the plastisphere, the surface of MPs, are influenced by plastic properties, allowing ARB to colonize and form biofilms. These biofilms facilitate the transfer of ARGs within microbial communities. This study analyzed data from the LUCAS soil dataset (885 soil samples across EU countries) using the Emu tool to characterize microbial communities at the genus/species level. Functional annotation via PICRUSt2, supported by a custom tool for Emu output formatting, revealed significant correlations between the genera Solirubrobacter , Bradyrhizobium , Nocardioides , and Bacillus with pathways linked to microplastic degradation and antibiotic resistance. These genera were consistently present in various soil types (woodland, grassland, and cropland), suggesting their potential as bioindicators of soil health in relation to MP pollution. The findings underscore MPs as hotspots for ARB and ARGs, offering new insights into the identification of bioindicators for monitoring soil health and the ecological impacts related to MP contamination.

Keywords: microplastics; antibiotic resistance genes; soil microbiome; LUCAS soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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