摘要
      对口罩的需求仍然很高。然而，人们对废弃口罩作为污染物的潜在避难所以及促进抗生素耐药性基因（ARG）在环境中的富集和传播知之甚少。我们通过进行原位时间序列实验来研究与丢弃口罩相关的ARGs、细菌和原生动物的动态变化，从而解决了这个问题。口罩在河口孵化30天。口罩中ARGs的相对丰度在第7天后增加，但在14天后趋于平稳。30天时，碳口罩和外科口罩的ARGs绝对丰度分别为1.29×1012和1.07×1012拷贝。根据归一化随机比分析，细菌群落和原生生物群落的组装分别通过随机（NST=62%）和确定性（NST=40%）过程确定。一项网络分析强调了细菌和原生动物之间的潜在相互作用，这一点得到了培养依赖性分析的进一步证实，该分析表明口罩可以庇护和丰富微生物群落。抗生素敏感性测试表明，抗生素耐药性病原体共存于原生动物中。这项研究深入了解了ARGs通过废弃口罩的传播，并强调了管理废弃口罩的重要性，以及口罩污染的潜在生态风险。
Abstract
The demand for facial masks remains high. However, little is known about discarded masks as a potential refuge for contaminants and to facilitate enrichment and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) in the environment. We address this issue by conducting an in-situ time-series experiment to investigate the dynamic changes of ARGs, bacteria and protozoa associated with discarded masks. Masks were incubated in an estuary for 30 days. The relative abundance of ARGs in masks increased after day 7 but levelled off after 14 days. The absolute abundance of ARGs at 30 days was 1.29 × 1012 and 1.07 × 1012 copies for carbon and surgical masks, respectively. According to normalized stochasticity ratio analysis, the assembly of bacterial and protistan communities was determined by stochastic (NST = 62%) and deterministic (NST = 40%) processes respectively. A network analysis highlighted potential interactions between bacteria and protozoa, which was further confirmed by culture-dependent assays, that showed masks shelter and enrich microbial communities. An antibiotic susceptibility test suggested that antibiotic resistant pathogens co-exist within protozoa. This study provides an insight into the spread of ARGs through discarded masks and highlights the importance of managing discarded masks with the potential ecological risk of mask contamination.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389421027436