Potential planetary health impacts of the airborne plastisphere
Changchao Li, Ling Jin, Michael S. Bank, Chunlan Fan, Michael R. Gillings, Tingting Zhao, Yong Han, T. Chen, Meng Gao, Dong Zhu, Qing‐Lin Chen, Guibing Zhu, Jie Wang, Lei Wang, Jian Liu, Xian-Zheng Yuan, Qishen Huang, Xiaofei Wang, Annika Jahnke, Janice Brahney, Steve Allen, Hans Peter H. Arp, Sonja Oberbeckmann, Melanie Bergmann, Stephen B. Pointing, Daizhou Zhang, Matthias C. Rillig
Abstract
Plastics interact with microorganisms in ways that can profoundly affect ecosystems and human health. Despite their global atmospheric presence, microplastic-microbe interactions in air and their planetary health ramifications remain poorly understood. In this review, by synthesizing emerging evidence, we show that airborne microplastics could carry and sustain microorganisms over long distances and timescales, potentially dispersing pathogens, antibiotic-resistance genes, and other bioactive agents across ecosystems—highlighting an overlooked, multisector planetary health threat and research agenda.