Effects of microplastics and tetracycline induced intestinal damage, intestinal microbiota dysbiosis, and antibiotic resistome: metagenomic analysis in young mice

Abstract

• Early-life co-exposure to microplastics and tetracycline impaired gut barrier. • Co-exposure resulted caused severe intestinal damage and microbiota dysbiosis. • Co-exposure increased antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in gut microbiota. • Strong correlations linked microbiota changes, ARGs, and virulence factor genes. Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic tetracycline (TC) are widespread in the environment and constitute emerging combined contaminants. Young individuals are particularly vulnerable to agents that disrupt intestinal health and development. However, the combined effects of MPs and TC remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed a young mouse model exposed to polystyrene MPs, either alone or in combination with TC for 8 weeks to simulate real-life dietary exposure during early life. Our findings revealed that concurrent exposure to MPs and TC caused the most severe intestinal barrier dysfunction driven by inflammatory activation and oxidative imbalance. Moreover, exposure to MPs and TC reduced the abundance of potential probiotics while promoting the growth of opportunistic pathogens. Metagenomic analysis further indicated that co-exposure to MPs and TC enhanced the abundance of bacteria carrying either antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) or virulence factor genes (VFGs), contributing to the widespread dissemination of potentially harmful genes. Finally, a strong positive correlation was observed between microbiota dysbiosis, ARGs, and VFGs. In general, this study highlighted the hazards of MPs and antibiotics to intestinal health in young mice, which provided a new perspective into the dynamics of pathogens, ARGs, and VFGs in early-life intestinal environments.