2026-02-26 イリノイ大学アーバナ・シャンペーン校
＜関連情報＞
- https://aces.illinois.edu/news/nanoplastics-can-interact-salmonella-affect-food-safety-study-shows
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389426002426
- https://medibio.tiisys.com/155575/
ポリスチレンナノプラスチックと病原体の可塑性:サルモネラ・エンテリカに対する毒性の脅威か、それとも許容されるストレス要因か? Polystyrene nanoplastics and pathogen plasticity: Toxic threat or tolerated stressor in Salmonella enterica?
Jayita De, Goutam Banerjee, Edwin Valenzuela De Leon, Adriana Gonzalez Martinez, Corina Wong, Pratik Banerjee
Journal of Hazardous Materials Available online: 26 January 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2026.141264
Graphical Abstract
Highlights
- PS-NPs suppress Salmonella viability in a clear concentration-dependent manner.
- Exposure to PS-NPs activates key oxidative and envelope stress response pathways.
- PS-NPs enhance biofilm formation, promoting persistence under adverse conditions.
- PS-NPs modulate virulence genes, influencing invasive and pathogenic potential.
- PS-NPs alter AMR gene expression, influencing resistance dissemination.
Abstract
Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs), a group of increasingly common environmental pollutants, pose emerging risks to microbial ecology and food safety. This study examines the concentration- and time-dependent effects of PS-NPs (low exposure: 2.5–5 mg/L; moderate exposure: 10–20 mg/L; high exposure: 50–100 mg/L) on Salmonella enterica, a major foodborne pathogen. Under realistic environmental conditions, PS-NPs influenced bacterial viability, membrane integrity, and oxidative stress levels, with higher concentrations causing lipid peroxidation and membrane disruption. Gene expression analyses showed early upregulation of stress-related, biofilm-associated, virulence, and adhesion genes, indicating an adaptive response to PS-NP-induced stress. Biofilm formation increased with moderate to high PS-NP exposure, confirmed by exopolysaccharide measurement and confocal microscopy. However, prolonged or high-dose exposure resulted in downregulation of efflux systems (acrB, tolC), quorum-sensing regulators (lsrA, invF), and antimicrobial resistance genes (marR, tetC), suggesting stress-related trade-offs. Notably, transient activation of marA and acrA indicates potential NP-induced cross-resistance mechanisms. These results imply that PS-NPs act as environmental stressors capable of altering bacterial virulence and survival strategies, with significant implications for microbial behavior in plastic-contaminated ecosystems and food processing environments. Collectively, our results emphasize the urgent need to reevaluate NP exposure in the context of public health and antimicrobial resistance.
