Soil microplastics ferry pesticides, bacteria and resistance genes

A five-year EU-funded project found microplastics in agricultural soil act as a "Trojan horse" for pollutants, pesticides and bacteria. Researchers say particle surfaces, called the plastisphere, carried more antibiotic-resistance genes, amplified by pesticides, with smaller particles adsorbing more. The effect can disrupt nutrient cycles in earthworms and soil organisms.