Data from: Antibiotics disrupt bacteria-phytoplankton symbioses: Unveiling ecological risks in aquatic ecosystems

Antibiotic pollution in natural water bodies has reached alarming levels,
posing a significant threat to the delicate balance of aquatic ecosystems.
Bacteria and phytoplankton are foundational components of these
ecosystems, playing crucial roles as decomposers and primary producers,
respectively, and their symbiotic relationships are essential for
maintaining ecological stability. Despite accumulating research focusing
on the direct toxic effects of antibiotics, disruptions of complex
bacteria-phytoplankton symbioses remain largely underexplored. In this
review, we first introduce the symbiotic mechanisms between bacteria and
phytoplankton, highlighting the processes underlying the formation of
these relationships. We then examine the antibiotic sensitivity of
bacteria and phytoplankton, highlighting the heightened vulnerability of
bacteria. Finally, we explore the mechanism by which antibiotics disrupt
bacteria, leading to altered interactions with phytoplankton. These
disruptions cause shifts in phytoplankton population community structure
and dynamics with implications for ecosystem functions, including a higher
risk of exacerbation of harmful algal blooms. Our study reveals that even
if environmental concentrations of antibiotics do not directly impact
phytoplankton populations, they can affect phytoplankton populations and
communities by altering symbiotic bacteria. Understanding
bacteria-phytoplankton symbioses is thus essential for unraveling the
ecological impacts of antibiotics. This underexplored field demands
greater attention from pollution ecology researchers, as it is key to
defining environmental thresholds for pollutants.

天然水体中的抗生素污染已达到令人警觉的程度，对水生生态系统的微妙平衡构成严重威胁。细菌与浮游植物（phytoplankton）是这类生态系统的基础组成部分，二者分别作为分解者与初级生产者发挥关键作用，其共生关系对维持生态系统稳定性至关重要。尽管针对抗生素直接毒性效应的研究日益丰富，但针对细菌-浮游植物复杂共生关系受干扰的相关探索仍未得到充分探索。在本综述中，我们首先阐述细菌与浮游植物的共生机制，重点揭示二者共生关系形成的底层过程；随后分析二者对抗生素的敏感性，着重指出细菌对抗生素的易感性更强；最后探讨抗生素干扰细菌、进而改变其与浮游植物相互作用的机制。这类干扰会引发浮游植物种群群落结构与动态的改变，进而对生态系统功能产生影响，其中还会提升有害藻华（harmful algal blooms）加剧暴发的风险。本研究表明，即便环境浓度的抗生素不会直接影响浮游植物种群，仍可通过改变共生细菌来影响浮游植物种群与群落结构。因此，解析细菌-浮游植物的共生关系，是阐明抗生素生态影响的关键所在。这一尚未得到充分探索的领域亟需污染生态学研究者给予更多关注，因为它是确定污染物环境阈值的核心要点。