Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Promote Bacterial Conjugative Plasmid Transfer
Katrin Weise, Lena Winter, Emily V. Fischer, David Kneis, Magali de la Cruz Barrón, Steffen Kunze, Thomas U. Berendonk, Dirk Jungmann, Uli Klümper
Abstract
In recent decades, the use of carbon nanoparticles, especially multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), in a variety of products and engineering applications has been growing exponentially. As a result, MWCNT pollution into environmental compartments has been increasing. We here demonstrate that the exposure to MWCNTs can affect bacterial plasmid transfer rates in aquatic environments, an important process connected to the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in microbial communities. This is mechanistically explained by the ability of MWCNTs to form bigger agglomerates, hence providing novel surfaces for bacterial interactions. Consequently, increasing pollution with MWCNTs has the potential to elevate the ongoing spread of antimicrobial resistance, a major threat to human health in the 21st century.