Emerging contaminants and antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems: a systematic review of the chemical and microbiological mechanisms involved
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/asce.v5i3.1112Keywords:
Pollution, Waste disposal, Aquatic environment, Microbiology, Chemical processesAbstract
Antimicrobial resistance has evolved from a problem primarily associated with clinical settings into an environmental threat; aquatic ecosystems continuously receive various emerging contaminants that alter microbial communities and foster antimicrobial resistance. This situation has transformed rivers, lakes, hospital effluents, and treatment plants into reservoirs where chemical and microbiological processes interact, contributing to the expansion of the environmental resistome. Therefore, the objective was to analyze scientific evidence published over the last five years regarding the influence of emerging contaminants on antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems, with an emphasis on the chemical and microbiological mechanisms involved. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines; searches were performed in Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, covering articles published between 2021 and 2025. The selection process included identification, refinement, screening, and eligibility assessment, while the data collected encompassed contaminants, resistance genes, microorganisms, methodologies, and associated mechanisms. Studies identified wastewater, and hospital effluents as the primary reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance; residual antibiotics, microplastics, heavy metals, and PFAS stood out among the most significant contaminants; sul, tet, bla, erm, qnr, and mcr genes showed widespread environmental distribution; and co-selection, cross-resistance, and horizontal gene transfer emerged as the key mechanisms driving the persistence, and dissemination of resistance. Antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems results from a complex interaction between emerging contaminants, microbial communities, and mobile genetic elements.
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