Bacterial and Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (Second Edition)

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, “Bacterial and Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment” (https://www.mdpi.com/si/156967).

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is one of the most serious public health threats of our time. Modern life has introduced novel technologies, including widespread antibiotics, ventilation, and plastics, that pose new challenges to bacteria. The misuse of antibiotics has historically resulted in the rise of antimicrobial resistance, leading to the transmission of untreatable illnesses and, in some cases, death. Aerosolization stress in airborne bacteria seems to be involved in the development of responses to environmental factors including temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates. Recently, microplastics (MPs) with a diameter of less than 5 mm have displayed a high tendency to enrich antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes (ARBs and ARGs) in attached biofilms. Hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria include wastewater systems, food and animal production sites, and clinical settings such as hospitals. However, the mechanisms by which microbes exposed to these environmental challenges acquire AR remain largely unknown.

The importance of this field justifies a Special Issue of Microorganisms devoted to the latest progress in the detection, assessment, and modeling of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Accordingly, as Guest Editors, we invite you to submit research articles focusing on environmental factors affecting the behavior and transmission of bacteria and potentially triggering antibiotic resistance.

Dr. Maria King
Dr. Xingmao Ma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs)
• Antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs)
• Environmental stress
• Bioaerosols
• Biofilms
• Membrane channels
• Microplastics (MPs)
• Transmission
• Modeling
• Wastewater
• Hospitals.