MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1699325
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Adaptation and Metabolic Reprogramming under Emerging Contaminants Stress in Engineered Water/Wastewater Treatment EcosystemsView all articles
Mobile genetic elements and wastewater treatment: Contaminants of emerging concern, climate change, and trophic transmission
Provisionally accepted
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This minireview focuses on recent developments regarding mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and proximal environments. WWTPs are often discussed as hotspots and bioreactors for the evolution of MGEs and ARGs and their horizontal transfer. Firstly, the article reviews the effects of emerging contaminants on HGT and MGEs with a specific focus on microplastics and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Secondly, the review focuses on how extreme weather and climate change can overwhelm WWTPs, increase the input of diverse genetic elements, and alter the dynamics of HGT. Finally, the trophic connections between the WWTP microbiota and external ecosystems underscore the potential for wider transmission of MGEs. Here, the focus is on transfer of MGEs to larger organisms in the vicinity of WWTPs. In sum, the review focuses on emerging areas of research that refine our understanding of the WWTP environment as a hotspot for HGT and dissemination of MGEs with potentially deleterious implications for human and wider ecosystem health.
Keywords: MGE, HGT, PFAS, Microplastics, Contaminants of emerging concern, WWTP, AMR
Received: 04 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bradshaw. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Aaron Bradshaw, aaron.bradshaw@hu-berlin.de
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.