Bubbles Expand the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance in the Aquatic Environment

Antibiotic resistance is a global health challenge, andthe COVID-19pandemic has amplified the urgency to understand its airborne transmission.The bursting of bubbles is a fundamental phenomenon in natural andindustrial processes, with the potential to encapsulate or adsorbantibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). However, there is no evidenceto date for bubble-mediated antibiotic resistance dissemination. Here,we show that bubbles can eject abundant bacteria to the air, formstable biofilms over the air-water interface, and provide opportunitiesfor cell-cell contact that facilitates horizontal gene transferat and over the air-liquid interface. The extracellular matrix(ECM) on bacteria can increase bubble attachment on biofilms, increasebubble lifetime, and, thus, produce abundant small droplets. We showthrough single-bubble probe atomic force microscopy and moleculardynamics simulations that hydrophobic interactions with polysaccharidescontrol how the bubble interacts with the ECM. These results highlightthe importance of bubbles and its physicochemical interaction withECM in facilitating antibiotic resistance dissemination and fulfillthe framework on antibiotic resistance dissemination. This study reveals how bubbles propagateantibiotic resistancegenes and interact with extracellular matrix in the aquatic environment.