plastisphere

Mapping microplastic hotspots to prioritize global antimicrobial resistance surveillance

Twenty-eight operational hotspot cells now offer a transparent, empirical layer for selecting where to measure antimicrobial resistance in the plastisphere. By harmonizing 2,399 surface-water samples from two global datasets, this analysis maps particle carrier-load without conflating abundance with AMR burden. Detection rates climbed from 49.5% in freshwater to 94.5% in the open ocean, a measurable gradient that sharpens surveillance priorities. These are substrate-rich sampling candidates, not verified AMR hotspots, and their value requires empirical validation.