Nano Plastics Can Make E. Coli Infections Worse

Prelims:  Science and technology | Current events of national and international importance

Why in news?

Recently, a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, has revealed that nano plastics aren’t just risky on their own

• Nano plastics – It is extremely small plastic particles typically ranging from 1 to 100 nanometres in size.
• They are found everywhere- in mountaintops, deep-sea trenches, human bloodstream, tissues, and even newborns.
• It is known for toxic effects including damage to cells and genetic material.
• E. coli (Escherichia coli) – It is a group of bacteria that usually lives in your gut without hurting you.
• It is a gram-negative bacillus foodborne pathogen and is a causative agent of many diarrheal illnesses.

Gram-negative bacteria appear pink or red under a microscope during lab test because they have a thin cell wall and an outer membrane that prevents the primary stain (crystal violet) from being retained.

Findings of the study

• Impact of Nano plastics – Researchers found that nano plastics make E. coli (Gram-negative) can be more virulent.
• The charged nano plastics increases stress on E. coli, prompting it to produce more Shiga-like toxins — proteins responsible for causing disease.

• The charged nano plastics initially inhibited bacterial growth.
• But over time, some E. coli cells adapted, resumed growth, and showed genetic changes.
• Both positively and negatively charged nano plastics led to these effects, although positive charges had more severe outcomes.
• Significance – Nano plastics can exacerbate bacterial infections by enhancing virulence
• It also poses indirect threat by making microbes more dangerous and resistant to antibiotics.

Reference

The Hindu| Nanoplastics can make E. coli infections worse