A research team led by SKLMEH member Prof. Ling Jin has uncovered that plastic debris in urban waterways acts as a reservoir for pathogenic and antifungal-resistant fungi, expanding the ecological and health risks of plastic pollution beyond bacteria. This study demonstrates that the "plastisphere" may serve as a mobile vector for spreading dangerous, drug-resistant fungi across aquatic ecosystems.
Plastic pollution has created unique microbial habitats known as the "plastisphere," where microorganisms selectively colonise synthetic surfaces and form distinct biofilm communities. While previous studies have established that plastics can accumulate bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, the role of the plastisphere in harbouring fungal threats remained largely unexplored. In a study titled "Aquatic Plastisphere as a Reservoir for Pathogenic and Antifungal-Resistant Fungi", recently published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the research team reveals that environmental plastic waste may carry pathogenic fungi and promote the maintenance and spread of antifungal resistance.
The study was led jointly by Dr. Changchao Li and Prof. Ling Jin, together with co-first authors Mr. Shing King Zhou and Dr. Chunlan Fan. By analyzing 27 plastic samples collected from urban waterways in the Boston area, the team employed an integrated approach combining metagenomic sequencing, fungal strain isolation, antifungal susceptibility testing, and whole-genome sequencing. Through metagenomic screening, the team identified 32 pathogenic fungal species on plastic surfaces, including 13 listed on the WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens List—among them Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans. Notably, all 32 pathogenic species carried genetic signals associated with antifungal drug resistance, with at least one known resistance mutation detected in each species.
Culture-based experiments further confirmed that plastics host viable, living fungal isolates. The team successfully cultured Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium oxysporum, and Candida parapsilosis from plastic surfaces. Antifungal susceptibility testing against 11 agents revealed that most isolates exhibited resistant phenotypes, with some strains showing multidrug resistance. Cross-substrate comparisons showed that plastic particles carried significantly higher loads of resistance-associated fungi than the surrounding water column or natural particles, indicating that plastic surfaces act as environmental "hotspots" where pathogenic and drug-resistant fungi are selectively enriched.
The research team calls for the inclusion of plastisphere associated fungal pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance profiles in future monitoring programmes and regulatory guidelines. They also highlight the urgent need for further studies to investigate the potential transmission of these fungi through direct contact, food chain transfer, and aerosolisation, particularly in urban coastal regions and aquaculture zones.
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