14 Ate Today?Thank a Farmer. Better Farming | November 2023 It’s risky to ignore your hearing loss. Leaving your hearing loss untreated puts you at risk. Those risks include: � 1 in 2 people experience relationship breakdown � 5 times increased risk of developing dementia � 10 times greater risk of having a serious fall What are you waiting for? Book a FREE hearing test today. 1-888-457-3453 HearWellBeWell.ca 14 Ontario locations Family owned and locally operated since 1984. Research chemical substances in their new home base, they activate stress response genes that incidentally help them resist other chemicals too, including, sometimes, antibiotics. And when groups of bacteria attach to the same surface, they have a habit of sharing these genes through a process called horizontal gene transfer. Nanoplastics, which can enter bacterial cells, present a di erent kind of stress, but that stress can have the same outcome. “Bacteria have been evolving genetic mechanisms to cope with stress for millions of years. Plastic is a new material that bacteria have never seen in nature, so they are now evoking these genetic tool sets to deal with that stress,” says Pratik Banerjee, co-author and associate professor in FSHN and Illinois extension specialist. “We have also shown bacteria may become more virulent in the presence of plastics in addition to becoming more resistant to antimicrobials.” Gene transfer between bacteria on microplastics has been documented in other environments like water. So far, the phenomenon is only hypothetical in agricultural soil, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Nath and Banerjee are currently running laboratory studies to document gene transfer. “Soil is an under-researched area in this eld,” Banerjee says. “We have an obligation to understand what’s going on in soil, because what we suspect and what we fear is that the situation in soil could be even worse than in water. “One of the technical problems is that soil is a very di cult medium to handle when it comes to shing out microplastics. Water is so easy because you can simply lter the microplastic out,” Banerjee adds. “But we have made some good headway thanks to Jayashree and our collaboration with the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.” e authors point out many foodborne pathogens make it onto produce from their native home in the soil, but nanoplastics and antibiotic resistant bacteria could be small enough to enter roots and plant tissues where they are impossible to wash away. While nanoplastics have been documented in and on crops, the eld of study is still new, and it’s not well known how o en this occurs. Banerjee’s research group plans to tackle that question as well. Ultimately, microplastics are here to stay. A er all, they’ve predicted to persist in the environment for centuries or longer. e authors say it’s time to understand their impacts in the soil and our food system, raise awareness and push toward biodegradable plastic alternatives. BF Lauren Quinn is a media communications specialist with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of ACES.
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