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Wu F, Yuan C, Ruan C, Zheng M, Liu L, Wang G, Chen G. Coagulation promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in secondary effluents. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 355:124245. [PMID: 38810683 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are biological hotspots receiving the residual antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria/genes (ARB/ARGs) that greatly influence the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. A common method used in WWTPs for the purification of secondary effluent is coagulation. Notwithstanding the increasing health concern of antibiotic resistance in WWTPs, the impact of coagulation on the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance remains unclear. To shed light on this, our study investigated the behavior of four representative ARB types (tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, and ciprofloxacin resistance) during the coagulation process in a model wastewater treatment plant. Our search showed a significant reduction in the presence of ARBs after either PAC or FeCl3 coagulation, with removal efficiencies of 95% and 90%, respectively. However, after 4 days of storage, ARB levels in the coagulated effluent increased by 6 to 138 times higher than the original secondary effluent. It suggests a potential resurgence and spread of antibiotic resistance after coagulation. Detailed studies suggest that coagulants, particularly PAC, may facilitate the transfer of ARGs among different bacterial species by the enhanced cell-cell contact during coagulation-induced bacterial aggregation. This transfer is further enhanced by the factors such as auxiliary mixing, longer incubation time and ideal operating temperatures. In addition, both PAC and FeCl3 affected gene expression associated with bacterial conjugation, leading to an increase in conjugation efficiency. In conclusion, while coagulation serves as a purification method, it might inadvertently boost the spread of ARGs during tertiary wastewater treatment. This underscores the importance of implementing subsequent measures to mitigate this effect. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the challenges posed by bacterial antibiotic resistance in wastewater and pave the way for devising more effective ARB and ARG management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fazhu Wu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Chao Yuan
- Department of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Chujin Ruan
- Department of Soil and Water Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Department of Environmental Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
| | - Mengqi Zheng
- Department of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Li Liu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Gang Wang
- Department of Soil and Water Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Guowei Chen
- Department of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
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Cheng ZH, Luo XY, Liu DF, Han J, Wang HD, Min D, Yu HQ. Optimized Antibiotic Resistance Genes Monitoring Scenarios Promote Sustainability of Urban Water Cycle. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38770702 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in urban water bodies has become a significant environmental and health concern. Many approaches based on real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) have been developed to offer rapid and highly specific detection of ARGs in water environments, but the complicated and time-consuming procedures have hindered their widespread use. Herein, we developed a facile one-step approach for rapid detection of ARGs by leveraging the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA). This efficient method matches the sensitivity and specificity of qPCR and requires no complex equipment. The results show a strong correlation between the prevalence of four ARG markers (ARGs: sul1, qnrA-1, mcr-1, and class 1 integrons: intl1) in tap water, human urine, farm wastewater, hospital wastewater, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and proximate natural aquatic ecosystems, indicating the circulation of ARGs within the urban water cycle. Through monitoring the ARG markers in 18 WWTPs in 9 cities across China during both peak and declining stages of the COVID epidemic, we found an increased detection frequency of mcr-1 and qnrA-1 in wastewater during peak periods. The ARG detection method developed in this work may offer a useful tool for promoting a sustainable urban water cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou-Hua Cheng
- School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xi-Yan Luo
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Dong-Feng Liu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jing Han
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hao-Da Wang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Di Min
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Han-Qing Yu
- School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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Shamsizadeh Z, Nikaeen M, Mohammadi F, Farhadkhani M, Mokhtari M, Ehrampoush MH. Wastewater surveillance of antibiotic resistance and class 1 integron-integrase genes: Potential impact of wastewater characteristics on genes profile. Heliyon 2024; 10:e29601. [PMID: 38765125 PMCID: PMC11098788 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a major global health concern, but current surveillance efforts primarily focus on healthcare settings, leaving a lack of understanding about AR across all sectors of the One Health approach. To bridge this gap, wastewater surveillance provides a cost-effective and efficient method for monitoring AR within a population. In this study, we implemented a surveillance program by monitoring the wastewater effluent from two large-scale municipal treatment plants situated in Isfahan, a central region of Iran. These treatment plants covered distinct catchment regions and served a combined population about two million of residents. Furthermore, the effect of physicochemical and microbial characteristics of wastewater effluent including biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), temperature, total coliforms and Escherichia coli concentration on the abundance of ARGs (blaCTX-M, tetW, sul1, cmlA, and ermB) and class 1 integron-integrase gene (intI1) were investigated. Sul1 and blaCTX-M were the most and least abundant ARGs in the two WWTPs, respectively. Principal Component Analysis showed that in both of the WWTPs all ARGs and intI1 gene abundance were positively correlated with effluent temperature, but all other effluent characteristics (BOD, COD, TSS, total coliforms and E. coli) showed no significant correlation with ARGs abundance. Temperature could affect the performance of conventional activated sludge process, which in turn could affect the abundance of ARGs. The results of this study suggest that other factors than BOD, COD and TSS may affect the ARGs abundance. The predicted AR could lead to development of effective interventions and policies to combat AR in the clinical settings. However, further research is needed to determine the relationship between the AR in wastewater and clinical settings as well as the effect of other influential factors on ARGs abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Shamsizadeh
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Larestan University of Medical Sciences, Larestan, Iran
- Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mahnaz Nikaeen
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Farzaneh Mohammadi
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Marzieh Farhadkhani
- Educational Development Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
| | - Mehdi Mokhtari
- Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush
- Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
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Xue Q, Chen Z, Xie W, Zhang S, Jiang J, Sun G. Impact of Condition Variations on Bioelectrochemical System Performance: An Experimental Investigation of Sulfamethoxazole Degradation. Molecules 2024; 29:2276. [PMID: 38792137 PMCID: PMC11124217 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29102276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are an innovative technology for the efficient degradation of antibiotics. Shewanella oneidensis (S. oneidensis) MR-1 plays a pivotal role in degrading sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in BESs. Our study investigated the effect of BES conditions on SMX degradation, focusing on microbial activity. The results revealed that BESs operating with a 0.05 M electrolyte concentration and 2 mA/cm2 current density outperformed electrolysis cells (ECs). Additionally, higher electrolyte concentrations and elevated current density reduced SMX degradation efficiency. The presence of nutrients had minimal effect on the growth of S. oneidensis MR-1 in BESs; it indicates that S. oneidensis MR-1 can degrade SMX without nutrients in a short period of time. We also highlighted the significance of mass transfer between the cathode and anode. Limiting mass transfer at a 10 cm electrode distance enhanced S. oneidensis MR-1 activity and BES performance. In summary, this study reveals the complex interaction of factors affecting the efficiency of BES degradation of antibiotics and provides support for environmental pollution control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Xue
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100091, China; (Q.X.); (Z.C.); (W.X.); (S.Z.)
| | - Zhihui Chen
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100091, China; (Q.X.); (Z.C.); (W.X.); (S.Z.)
| | - Wenjing Xie
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100091, China; (Q.X.); (Z.C.); (W.X.); (S.Z.)
| | - Shuke Zhang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100091, China; (Q.X.); (Z.C.); (W.X.); (S.Z.)
| | - Jie Jiang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100091, China; (Q.X.); (Z.C.); (W.X.); (S.Z.)
| | - Guoxin Sun
- State Key Lab of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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Wang Y, Zhang S, Li L, Zhang Q, Yang L, Yang K, Liu Y, Zhu H, Lai B, Wu J, Hua L. Airborne ARGs/MGEs from two sewage types during the COVID-21: Population, microbe interactions, cytotoxicity, formation mechanism, and dispersion. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 254:121368. [PMID: 38417267 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
During the COVID-2021 epidemic, a large number of antibiotics were used for clinical treatment in hospitals or daily prevention. Sewage from hospital sewage treatment centers (HSTC) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) produced a lot of antibiotic-resistance genes/mobile genetic elements (ARGs/MGEs). In this study, the sewage and bioaerosol in the biochemical tank (BT) of an HSTC and a WWTP were sampled throughout the year. The results showed that the average absolute abundance of sewage in BT of WWTP (BTW-W) was higher than sewage in BT of HSTC (BTW-H). Sewage was an important source of microorganisms and ARGs/MGEs in the air of BT. Microorganisms and MGEs were the factors affecting the differences in ARGs/MGEs. Cytotoxicity experiment proved that the cytotoxicity changed from Grade III to Grade IV with the increase in drug-resistant Escherichia coli concentration. According to the formation mechanism formula, the average generation rate of ARGs/MGEs in BT of HSTC was lower than that in WWTP. The diffusion range of ARGs/MGEs of HSTC was larger than that of WWTP. According to the above results, this study found that when people were far away from BT, the health risk of HSTC caused by the diffusion of bioaerosol was higher than WWTP; When people were close to BT, the health risk of WWTP was higher than HSTC due to the aeration of BT. This study provided a basis for public protection of ARGs. In the future, the elimination of airborne ARGs and crowd protection can be further studied in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjie Wang
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, United Kingdom; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, PR China
| | - Song Zhang
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Lin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, PR China
| | - Qiao Zhang
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Liying Yang
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Kai Yang
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Yang Liu
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Haoran Zhu
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Bisheng Lai
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Jian Wu
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China.
| | - Linlin Hua
- School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China; Advanced Medical Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450014, PR China.
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Bydalek F, Webster G, Barden R, Weightman AJ, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Wenk J. Microbial community and antimicrobial resistance niche differentiation in a multistage, surface flow constructed wetland. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 254:121408. [PMID: 38442607 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Free-living (FL) and particulate-associated (PA) communities are distinct bacterioplankton lifestyles with different mobility and dissemination routes. Understanding spatio-temporal dynamics of PA and FL fractions will allow improvement to wastewater treatment processes including pathogen and AMR bacteria removal. In this study, PA, FL and sediment community composition and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG; tetW, ermB, sul1, intI1) dynamics were investigated in a full-scale municipal wastewater free-water surface polishing constructed wetland. Taxonomic composition of PA and FL microbial communities shifted towards less diverse communities (Shannon, Chao1) at the CW effluent but retained a distinct fraction-specific composition. Wastewater treatment plant derived PA communities introduced the bulk of AMR load (70 %) into the CW. However, the FL fraction was responsible for exporting over 60 % of the effluent AMR load given its high mobility and the effective immobilization (1-3 log removal) of PA communities. Strong correlations (r2>0.8, p < 0.05) were observed between the FL fraction, tetW and emrB dynamics, and amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of potentially pathogenic taxa, including Bacteroides, Enterobacteriaceae, Aeromonadaceae, and Lachnospiraceae. This study reveals niche differentiation of microbial communities and associated AMR in CWs and shows that free-living bacteria are a primary escape route of pathogenic and ARG load from CWs under low-flow hydraulic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franciszek Bydalek
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC), University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; GW4 NERC CDT in Freshwater Biosciences and Sustainability, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK; Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Microbiomes, Microbes and Informatics Group, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Gordon Webster
- Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Microbiomes, Microbes and Informatics Group, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | | | - Andrew J Weightman
- Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Microbiomes, Microbes and Informatics Group, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern
- Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC), University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Jannis Wenk
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC), University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
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7
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Wang C, Yin X, Xu X, Wang D, Liu L, Zhang X, Yang C, Zhang X, Zhang T. Metagenomic absolute quantification of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factor genes-carrying bacterial genomes in anaerobic digesters. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 253:121258. [PMID: 38359594 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Sewage treatment works have been considered as hotspots for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Anaerobic digestion (AD) has emerged as a promising approach for controlling the spread of ARGs while destroying biomass in sludge. Evaluating the impact of AD on ARG removal relies on the absolute quantification of ARGs. In this study, we quantified the ARG concentrations in both full-scale and lab-scale AD systems using a cellular spike-ins based absolute quantification approach. Results demonstrated that AD effectively removed 68 ± 18 %, 55 ± 12 %, and 57 ± 19 % of total ARGs in semi-continuous AD digesters, with solid retention times of 15, 20, and 25 days, respectively. The removal efficiency of total ARGs increased as the AD process progressed in the batch digesters over 40 days. A significant negative correlation was observed between digestion time and the concentrations of certain ARG types, such as beta-lactam, sulfonamide, and tetracycline. However, certain potential pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria (PARB) and multi-resistant high-risk ARGs-carrying populations robustly persisted throughout the AD process, regardless of the operating conditions. This study highlighted the influence of the AD process and its operating parameters on ARG removal, and revealed the broad spectrum and persistence of PARB in AD systems. These findings provided critical insights for the management of microbial hazards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaole Yin
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dou Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xuanwei Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology for Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Xiangru Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR, China.
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8
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Hazra M, Watts JEM, Williams JB, Joshi H. An evaluation of conventional and nature-based technologies for controlling antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes in wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 917:170433. [PMID: 38286289 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a globally recognized health concern which leads to longer hospital stays, increased morbidity, increased mortality, and higher medical costs. Understanding how antibiotic resistance persists and exchanges in environmental systems like soil, water, and wastewater are critically important for understanding the emergence of pathogens with new resistance profiles and the subsequent exposure of people who indirectly/directly come in contact with these pathogens. There are concerns about the widespread application of prophylactic antibiotics in the clinical and agriculture sectors, as well as chemicals/detergents used in food and manufacturing industries, especially the quaternary ammonium compounds which have been found responsible for the generation of resistant genes in water and soil. The rates of horizontal gene transfer increase where there is a lack of proper water/wastewater infrastructure, high antibiotic manufacturing industries, or endpoint users - such as hospitals and intensive agriculture. Conventional wastewater treatment technologies are often inefficient in the reduction of ARB/ARGs and provide the perfect combination of conditions for the development of antibiotic resistance. The wastewater discharged from municipal facilities may therefore be enriched with bacterial communities/pathogens and provide a suitable environment (due to the presence of nutrients and other pollutants) to enhance the transfer of antibiotic resistance. However, facilities with tertiary treatment (either traditional/emerging technologies) provide higher rates of reduction. This review provides a synthesis of the current understanding of wastewater treatment and antibiotic resistance, examining the drivers that may accelerate their possible transmission to a different environment, and highlighting the need for tertiary technologies used in treatment plants for the reduction of resistant bacteria/genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moushumi Hazra
- Department of Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India; International Water Management Institute, New Delhi, India; Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska Lincoln, United States.
| | - Joy E M Watts
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
| | - John B Williams
- School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
| | - Himanshu Joshi
- Department of Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
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9
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Yu J, Lu H, Zhu L. Mutation-driven resistance development in wastewater E. coli upon low-level cephalosporins: Pharmacophore contribution and novel mechanism. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 252:121235. [PMID: 38310801 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
Cephalosporins have been widely applied in clinical and veterinary settings and detected at increasing concentrations in water environments. They potentially induce high-level antibiotic resistance at environmental concentrations. This study characterized how typical wastewater bacteria developed heritable antibiotic resistance under exposure to different cephalosporins, including pharmacophore-resistance correlation, resistance mechanism, and occurrence of resistance-relevant mutations in different water environments. Wastewater-isolated E. coli JX1 was exposed to eight cephalosporins individually at 25 µg/L for 60 days. Multidrug resistance developed and diverse mutations arose in selected mutants, where a single mutation in ATP phosphoribosyltransferase encoding gene (hisG) resulted in up to 128-fold increase in resistance to meropenem. Molprint2D pharma RQSAR analysis revealed that hydrogen-bond acceptors and hydrophobic groups in the R1 and R2 substituents of cephalosporins contributed positively to antibiotic resistance. Some of these pharmacophores may persist during bio- or photo-degradation in the environment. hisG mutation confers a novel resistance mechanism by inhibiting fatty acid degradation, and its variants were more abundant in water-related E. coli (especially in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants) compared with those in non-water environments. These results suggest that specific degradation of particular pharmacophores in cephalosporins could be useful for controlling resistance development, and mutations in previously unreported resistance genes (e.g., hisG) can lead to overlooked antibiotic resistance risks in water environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxian Yu
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Huijie Lu
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Lizhong Zhu
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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10
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Wang Z, Cai M, Du P, Li X. Wastewater surveillance for antibiotics and resistance genes in a river catchment: Spatiotemporal variations and the main drivers. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 251:121090. [PMID: 38219685 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is used for mining information about public health such as antibiotics resistance. This study investigated the distribution profiles of six types of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater and rivers in Wuhu City, China. The levels of ARGs found in the Qingyijiang River were significantly higher than other rivers, and were comparable to effluent levels. Among the ARGs, sulfonamides ARGs and intI1 were the predominant in both wastewaters and rivers. Additionally, the concentrations of ARGs were higher on weekends as opposed to weekdays. Their distribution patterns remained consistent inter-week and inter-season using linear regression analysis (p < 0.001). Interestingly, the occurrence levels of ARGs in wastewaters during spring were significantly higher than in autumn, although insignificant in rivers. The apparent removal rate of ARGs in domestic wastewater sources ranged from 61.52-99.29%, except for qepA (-1.91% to 81.09%), whereas the removal rates in mixed domestic and industrial wastewaters showed a marked decrease (-92.94% to 76.67%). A correlation network analysis revealed that azithromycin and erythromycin were key antibiotics, while blaNDM-1, tetM, tetB, and ermB were identified as key ARGs. Sulfonamide and fluoroquinolone antibiotics, and tetracycline and macrolide ARGs were the primary contributors. Linear mixed models demonstrated that socio-economic variables positively impacted the occurrence levels of ARGs, whereas wastewater flow and river runoff were the negative drivers for their concentrations in wastewaters and surface waters, respectively. Overall, this WBE study contributes to the understanding of spatiotemporal profiles and main drivers of the occurrence of ARGs in wastewater and receiving water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenglu Wang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 PR China
| | - Min Cai
- Eco-environmental Protection Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Science, Shanghai 201403, PR China
| | - Peng Du
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 PR China.
| | - Xiqing Li
- Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871 PR China
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Felis E, Sochacki A, Bajkacz S, Łuczkiewicz A, Jóźwiakowski K, García J, Vymazal J. Removal of selected sulfonamides and sulfonamide resistance genes from wastewater in full-scale constructed wetlands. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169195. [PMID: 38081427 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Sulfonamides are high-consumption antibiotics that reach the aquatic environment. The threat related to their presence in wastewater and the environment is not only associated with their antibacterial properties, but also with risk of the spread of drug resistance in bacteria. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of eight commonly used sulfonamides, sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1-3) and integrase genes intI1-3 in five full-scale constructed wetlands (CWs) differing in design (including hybrid systems) and in the source of wastewater (agricultural drainage, domestic sewage/surface runoff, and animal runs runoff in a zoo). The CWs were located in low-urbanized areas in Poland and in Czechia. No sulfonamides were detected in the CW treating agricultural tile drainage water. In the other four systems, four sulfonamide compounds were detected. Sulfamethoxazole exhibited the highest concentration in those four CWs and its highest was 12,603.23 ± 1000.66 ng/L in a CW treating a mixture of domestic sewage and surface runoff. Despite the high removal efficiencies of sulfamethoxazole in the tested CWs (86 %-99 %), it was still detected in the treated wastewater. The sul1 genes occurred in all samples of raw and treated wastewater and their abundance did not change significantly after the treatment process and it was, predominantly, at the level 105 gene copies numbers/mL. Noteworthy, sul2 genes were only found in the influents, and sul3 were not detected. The sulfonamides can be removed in CWs, but their elimination is not complete. However, hybrid CWs treating sewage were superior in decreasing the relative abundance of genes and the concentration of SMX. CWs may play a role in the dissemination of sulfonamide resistance genes of the sul1 type and other determinants of drug resistance, such as the intI1 gene, in the environment, however, the magnitude of this phenomenon is a matter of further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Felis
- Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Department, ul. Akademicka 2, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Adam Sochacki
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Applied Ecology, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
| | - Sylwia Bajkacz
- Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, ul. M. Strzody 7, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Aneta Łuczkiewicz
- Gdańsk University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering Technology, ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Jóźwiakowski
- University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Faculty of Production Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, ul. Leszczyńskiego 7, 20-069 Lublin, Poland
| | - Joan García
- GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, c/ Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D1, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jan Vymazal
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Applied Ecology, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
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12
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Zhang L, Adyari B, Hou L, Yang X, Gad M, Wang Y, Ma C, Sun Q, Tang Q, Zhang Y, Yu CP, Hu A. Mass-immigration shapes the antibiotic resistome of wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168193. [PMID: 37914134 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the hotspots for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into the environment. Nevertheless, a comprehensive assessment of the city-level and short-term daily (inter-day) variations of ARG profiles in the whole process (influent-INF, activated sludge-AS and effluent-EF) of WWTPs is still lacking. Here, 285 ARGs and ten mobile gene elements were monitored in seven WWTPs in Xiamen for seven days via high-throughput qPCR. The average daily load of ARGs to WWTPs was about 1.32 × 1020 copies/d, and a total of 1.56 × 1018 copies/d was discharged to the environment across the entire city. Stochastic processes were the main force determining the assembly of ARG communities during sampling campaign, with their relative importance ranked in the order of INF > EFF > AS. There're little daily variations in ARG richness, abundance, β-diversity composition as well as assembly mechanisms. The results of SourceTracker, variation partitioning analysis, and hierarchical partitioning analysis indicated that bacteria and ARGs from upstream treatment processes played an increasingly dominant role in shaping ARG communities in AS and EFF, respectively, suggesting the importance of mass-immigration of bacteria and ARGs from the source on ARG transport in wastewater treatment processes. This emphasizes the need to revise the way we mitigate ARG contamination but focus on the source of ARGs in urban wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanping Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Bob Adyari
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, Universitas Pertamina, Jakarta 12220, Indonesia
| | - Liyuan Hou
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, UT 84322, USA; Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Xiaoyong Yang
- School of Environmental and Material Engineering, Yantai University, 30 Qingquan Road, Yantai 264005, China
| | - Mahmoud Gad
- Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt
| | - Yuwen Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Cong Ma
- Xiamen Municipal Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen 361001, China
| | - Qian Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Qiang Tang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yifeng Zhang
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Chang-Ping Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Anyi Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
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13
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Wang X, Wang J, Liu S, Dou M, Gao B. Sterilization mechanism and nanotoxicity of visible light-driven defective carbon nitride and UV-excited TiO 2. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 461:132109. [PMID: 37734307 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The sterilization effect of photocatalysis and biotoxicity of nanomaterial catalysts have attracted high attention. In this study, the novel visible-driven defective carbon nitride (VL/DCN) system exhibits non-photoreactivation, non-toxic superior performance compared with traditional ultraviolet radiation (UV) and UV/titanium dioxide (UV/TiO2). The inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) by novel VL/DCN still reached 7 log within 4 h, and the reduction rates of aminoglycoside gene strB and tetracycline gene tetA exceeded 0.8 log and 1.2 log, respectively. Further, the sterilization mechanism and nanotoxicity were contrastively and systematically analyzed among above three systems as following. Firstly, in the VL/DCN system, reactive oxygen species (ROSs) generated from photocatalytic process leads to the destruction of cell membranes, resulting in dissolving out of potassium ion (K+), protein and cell membrane ATP content. Thus, resistant bacteria were completely inactivated and photoreactivation disappears. In contrast, the UV only acted on bacterial DNA and existed the light resurrection. The UV/TiO2 strictly dependent on ultraviolet light and can be used in limited scenarios. Secondly, in cell viability analysis by human lung cell line BEAS-2B experiments, the 10% inhibition of cell growth when DCN was 600 mg/L much lower than 28% inhibition of cell growth when TiO2 was only 200 mg/L. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines ((Interleukin, IL) -6), IL-8, IL-1β) under the effect of DCN was 1.5-fold, 5.7-fold and 3.7-fold lower than TiO2, respectively. Meanwhile, DCN induced cells to produce less ROSs, malondialdehyde (MDA), and more superoxide dismutase (SOD). Above results demonstrated that DCN has far lower cytotoxicity than TiO2. This study provides theoretical support for the application of photocatalytic sterilization technology and the exploration of the toxicity of nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyue Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Jin Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Shanjun Liu
- Jinan Environmental Research Academy, Jinan 250102, China
| | - Mengmeng Dou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Boru Gao
- China International Engineering Consulting Corporation, Beijing 100048, China
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Yu Z, He W, Klincke F, Madsen JS, Kot W, Hansen LH, Quintela-Baluja M, Balboa S, Dechesne A, Smets B, Nesme J, Sørensen SJ. Insights into the circular: The cryptic plasmidome and its derived antibiotic resistome in the urban water systems. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 183:108351. [PMID: 38041983 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
Plasmids have been a concern in the dissemination and evolution of antibiotic resistance in the environment. In this study, we investigated the total pool of plasmids (plasmidome) and its derived antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in different compartments of urban water systems (UWSs) in three European countries representing different antibiotic usage regimes. We applied a direct plasmidome approach using wet-lab methods to enrich circular DNA in the samples, followed by shotgun sequencing and in silico contig circularisation. We identified 9538 novel sequences in a total of 10,942 recovered circular plasmids. Of these, 66 were identified as conjugative, 1896 mobilisable and 8970 non-mobilisable plasmids. The UWSs' plasmidome was dominated by small plasmids (≤10 Kbp) representing a broad diversity of mobility (MOB) types and incompatibility (Inc) groups. A shared collection of plasmids from different countries was detected in all treatment compartments, and plasmids could be source-tracked in the UWSs. More than half of the ARGs-encoding plasmids carried mobility genes for mobilisation/conjugation. The richness and abundance of ARGs-encoding plasmids generally decreased with the flow, while we observed that non-mobilisable ARGs-harbouring plasmids maintained their abundance in the Spanish wastewater treatment plant. Overall, our work unravels that the UWS plasmidome is dominated by cryptic (i.e., non-mobilisable, non-typeable and previously unknown) plasmids. Considering that some of these plasmids carried ARGs, were prevalent across three countries and could persist throughout the UWSs compartments, these results should alarm and call for attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuofeng Yu
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Wanli He
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Franziska Klincke
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonas Stenløkke Madsen
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Witold Kot
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Lars Hestbjerg Hansen
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Marcos Quintela-Baluja
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Praza do Obradoiro, 0, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Sabela Balboa
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, NE1 7RX Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Arnaud Dechesne
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Barth Smets
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Joseph Nesme
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Søren Johannes Sørensen
- Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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15
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Wang Z, Fu L, Gu JD, Deng S, Huang C, Luo L. The factors controlling antibiotic resistance genes in different treatment processes of mainstream full-scale wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 900:165815. [PMID: 37506903 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The alteration of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater has been less studied in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), making it difficult to assess ARGs' spreading risk comprehensively. Therefore, this study investigated the distribution and reduction of ARGs in the main process (Anaerobic-Anoxic-Oxic with Membrane Bio-Reactor (A2/O + MBR), Oxidation Ditch with sedimentation (OD), and Cyclic Activated Sludge System (CASS) with sedimentation) and disinfection process (Ultra-violet and Chlorination) of full-scale WWTPs. The wastewater was sampled before and after the different main process and disinfection process; then, the diversity and abundance of ARGs and mobile genetic genes (MGEs, helping the horizontal transfer of ARGs) in wastewater of different treatment stages were determined by a real-time high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR) system. It was found that similar influents would result in similar ARGs in wastewater samples, independent of the treatment processes used. The main process could effectively reduce the abundance of ARGs and MGEs by 1.80-2.12 and 1.46-2.18 logarithm units, respectively. The main factors affecting ARGs were mainly wastewater quality index, especially COD, and MGEs like transposase and insertion sequences which were significantly associated with 66 and 48 subtypes of ARGs, respectively. Moreover, disinfection was more effective than the main process in inactivating antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB), and the removal rate of ARB by disinfection reached 43.53 %-100 %. However, there are still risks of ARB regeneration (up to 4.22 log units) in the effluent of WWTPs. In the future, nutrient removal and disinfection process improvement is necessary to benefit ARG and ARB removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zimu Wang
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Li Fu
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, PR China
| | - Shihuai Deng
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Chengyi Huang
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, PR China
| | - Ling Luo
- College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, PR China.
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16
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Papaioannou C, Geladakis G, Kommata V, Batargias C, Lagoumintzis G. Insights in Pharmaceutical Pollution: The Prospective Role of eDNA Metabarcoding. TOXICS 2023; 11:903. [PMID: 37999555 PMCID: PMC10675236 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11110903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Environmental pollution is a growing threat to natural ecosystems and one of the world's most pressing concerns. The increasing worldwide use of pharmaceuticals has elevated their status as significant emerging contaminants. Pharmaceuticals enter aquatic environments through multiple pathways related to anthropogenic activity. Their high consumption, insufficient waste treatment, and the incapacity of organisms to completely metabolize them contribute to their accumulation in aquatic environments, posing a threat to all life forms. Various analytical methods have been used to quantify pharmaceuticals. Biotechnology advancements based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, like eDNA metabarcoding, have enabled the development of new methods for assessing and monitoring the ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceuticals. eDNA metabarcoding is a valuable biomonitoring tool for pharmaceutical pollution because it (a) provides an efficient method to assess and predict pollution status, (b) identifies pollution sources, (c) tracks changes in pharmaceutical pollution levels over time, (d) assesses the ecological impact of pharmaceutical pollution, (e) helps prioritize cleanup and mitigation efforts, and (f) offers insights into the diversity and composition of microbial and other bioindicator communities. This review highlights the issue of aquatic pharmaceutical pollution while emphasizing the importance of using modern NGS-based biomonitoring actions to assess its environmental effects more consistently and effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charikleia Papaioannou
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece; (C.P.); (G.G.); (V.K.)
| | - George Geladakis
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece; (C.P.); (G.G.); (V.K.)
| | - Vasiliki Kommata
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece; (C.P.); (G.G.); (V.K.)
| | - Costas Batargias
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece; (C.P.); (G.G.); (V.K.)
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17
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Kelly SA, O'Connell NH, Thompson TP, Dillon L, Wu J, Creevey C, Kiely P, Slevin B, Powell J, Gilmore BF, Dunne CP. Large-scale characterization of hospital wastewater system microbiomes and clinical isolates from infected patients: profiling of multi-drug-resistant microbial species. J Hosp Infect 2023; 141:152-166. [PMID: 37696473 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2023.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and infectious agents exhibiting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are challenges globally. Environmental patient-facing wastewater apparatus including handwashing sinks, showers and toilets are increasingly identified as sources of infectious agents and AMR genes. AIM To provide large-scale metagenomics analysis of wastewater systems in a large teaching hospital in the Republic of Ireland experiencing multi-drug-resistant HAI outbreaks. METHODS Wastewater pipe sections (N=20) were removed immediately prior to refurbishment of a medical ward where HAIs had been endemic. These comprised toilet U-bends, and sink and shower drains. Following DNA extraction, each pipe section underwent metagenomic analysis. FINDINGS Diverse taxonomic and resistome profiles were observed, with members of phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria dominating (38.23 ± 5.68% and 15.78 ± 3.53%, respectively). Genomes of five clinical isolates were analysed. These AMR bacterial isolates were from patients >48 h post-admission to the ward. Genomic analysis determined that the isolates bore a high number of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). CONCLUSION Comparison of resistome profiles of isolates and wastewater metagenomes revealed high degrees of similarity, with many identical ARGs shared, suggesting probable acquisition post-admission. The highest numbers of ARGs observed were those encoding resistance to clinically significant and commonly used antibiotic classes. Average nucleotide identity analysis confirmed the presence of highly similar or identical genomes in clinical isolates and wastewater pipes. These unique large-scale analyses reinforce the need for regular cleaning and decontamination of patient-facing hospital wastewater pipes and effective infection control policies to prevent transmission of nosocomial infection and emergence of AMR within potential wastewater reservoirs.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Kelly
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - N H O'Connell
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; School of Medicine and Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation and Immunity (4i), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - T P Thompson
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - L Dillon
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - J Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - C Creevey
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - P Kiely
- School of Medicine and Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation and Immunity (4i), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - B Slevin
- Department of Infection Prevention and Control, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - J Powell
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; School of Medicine and Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation and Immunity (4i), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - B F Gilmore
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - C P Dunne
- School of Medicine and Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation and Immunity (4i), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
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Zhu M, Li Y, Wang L, Zhang W, Niu L, Hu T. Unraveling antibiotic resistomes associated with bacterial and viral communities in intertidal mudflat aquaculture area. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 459:132087. [PMID: 37506645 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The extensive use of antibiotics in intertidal mudflat aquaculture area has substantially increased the dissemination risk of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). As hosts of ARGs, bacteria and virus exert vital effects on ARG dissemination. However, the insights for the interrelationships among ARGs, bacteria, and virus have not been thoroughly explored in intertidal mudflat. Therefore, this study attempts to unravel the occurrence, dissemination, evolution, and driving mechanisms of ARGs associated with bacterial and viral communities using metagenomic sequencing in a typical intertidal mudflat. Abundant and diverse ARGs (22 types and 437 subtypes) were identified and those of ARGs were higher in spring than in autumn. It is worthy noted that virus occupied a more essential position than bacteria for ARGs dissemination through network analysis. Meanwhile, nitrogen exerted indirect effect on ARG profiles by shaping viral and bacterial diversity. According to the results of neutral and null models, deterministic processes dominated the ARG community assembly by controlling sediment nitrogen and antibiotics. Homogeneous and variable selection dominated phylogenetic turnover of ARG community, contributing 46.15% and 45.90% of the total processes, respectively. This study can hence theoretically support for the ARG pollution control and management in intertidal mudflat aquaculture area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjie Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
| | - Yi Li
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China.
| | - Linqiong Wang
- College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China.
| | - Wenlong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
| | - Lihua Niu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
| | - Tong Hu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
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Sambaza SS, Naicker N. Contribution of wastewater to antimicrobial resistance: A review article. J Glob Antimicrob Resist 2023; 34:23-29. [PMID: 37285914 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2023.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global challenge that has raised concern globally, owing to its detrimental effects on the health and economy of countries. The ever-growing threat of AMR and sources of AMR are still being investigated. Wastewater plays an important role as a habitat for bacteria and an environment conducive to gene transfer. The primary aim of this review was to highlight the contribution of wastewater to AMR. METHODS Evidence of AMR in wastewater was drawn from literature published in the last 10 years, from 2012 to 2022. RESULTS Wastewater from agricultural practices, pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, and hospital effluents was established to promote AMR. Furthermore, stress factors such as the presence of antibiotics, heavy metals, pH, and temperature initiate and propagate AMR in bacteria living in wastewater. AMR in bacteria from wastewater was established to be either natural or acquired. Wastewater treatment techniques such as membrane filtration, coagulation, adsorption, and advanced oxidation processes have been used to remove resistant bacteria with varying success levels. CONCLUSION Wastewater is a major contributor to AMR, and an understanding of its role in AMR is necessary to find a lasting solution. In this regard, the spread of AMR in wastewater should be considered a threat that requires a strategy to stop further damage.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nisha Naicker
- Department of Environmental Health, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa; Epidemiology and Surveillance, National Institute for Occupational Health, National Health Laboratory Services, Braamfontein, South Africa
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20
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Pereira AR, de Ávila Barbosa Fonseca L, Paranhos AGDO, da Cunha CCRF, de Aquino SF, de Queiroz Silva S. Role of a typical swine liquid manure treatment plant in reducing elements of antibiotic resistance. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:91803-91817. [PMID: 37477815 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28823-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Biological treatment of swine liquid manure may be a favorable environment for the enrichment of bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), raising the alert about this public health problem. The present work sought to investigate the performance of a swine wastewater treatment plant (SWWTP), composed of a covered lagoon biodigester (CLB) followed by three facultative ponds, in the removal of usual pollutants, antibiotics, ARGs (blaTEM, ermB, qnrB, sul1, and tetA), and intI1. The SWWTP promoted a 70% of organic matter removal, mainly by the digester unit. The facultative ponds stood out in the solids' retention carried from the anaerobic stage and contributed to ammonia volatilization. The detected antibiotic in the raw wastewater was norfloxacin (< 0.79 to 60.55 μg L-1), and the SWWTP seems to equalize peaks of norfloxacin variation probably due to sludge adsorption. CLB reduced the absolute abundance of ARGs by up to 2.5 log, while the facultative stage does not seem to improve the quality of the final effluent in terms of resistance elements. Considering the relative abundances, the reduction rates of total and ARG-carrying bacteria appear to be similar. Finally, correlation tests also revealed that organic matter and solids control in liquid manure treatment systems could help reduce the spread of ARGs after the waste final disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andressa Rezende Pereira
- Graduate Program in Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, 35400-000, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Silvana de Queiroz Silva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, 35400-000, Brazil.
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21
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Yin X, Chen X, Jiang XT, Yang Y, Li B, Shum MHH, Lam TTY, Leung GM, Rose J, Sanchez-Cid C, Vogel TM, Walsh F, Berendonk TU, Midega J, Uchea C, Frigon D, Wright GD, Bezuidenhout C, Picão RC, Ahammad SZ, Nielsen PH, Hugenholtz P, Ashbolt NJ, Corno G, Fatta-Kassinos D, Bürgmann H, Schmitt H, Cha CJ, Pruden A, Smalla K, Cytryn E, Zhang Y, Yang M, Zhu YG, Dechesne A, Smets BF, Graham DW, Gillings MR, Gaze WH, Manaia CM, van Loosdrecht MCM, Alvarez PJJ, Blaser MJ, Tiedje JM, Topp E, Zhang T. Toward a Universal Unit for Quantification of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Environmental Samples. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37310875 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been increasingly conducted in environmental sectors to complement the surveys in human and animal sectors under the "One-Health" framework. However, there are substantial challenges in comparing and synthesizing the results of multiple studies that employ different test methods and approaches in bioinformatic analysis. In this article, we consider the commonly used quantification units (ARG copy per cell, ARG copy per genome, ARG density, ARG copy per 16S rRNA gene, RPKM, coverage, PPM, etc.) for profiling ARGs and suggest a universal unit (ARG copy per cell) for reporting such biological measurements of samples and improving the comparability of different surveillance efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaole Yin
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Xi Chen
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiao-Tao Jiang
- Microbiome Research Centre, St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia
| | - Ying Yang
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, 519082 Zhuhai, China
| | - Bing Li
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, F518055 Shenzhen, China
| | - Marcus Ho-Hin Shum
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 999077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Tommy T Y Lam
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 999077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Gabriel M Leung
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks, New Territories, 99077 Hong Kong, China
| | - Joan Rose
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 Michigan, United States
| | - Concepcion Sanchez-Cid
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, CNRS UMR 5005 Laboratoire Ampère, École Centrale de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 69130 Écully, France
| | - Timothy M Vogel
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, CNRS UMR 5005 Laboratoire Ampère, École Centrale de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 69130 Écully, France
| | - Fiona Walsh
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, R51 Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Thomas U Berendonk
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, 01217 Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | - Dominic Frigon
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, H3A 0C3 Quebec, Canada
| | - Gerard D Wright
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, L8N 3Z5 Ontario, Canada
| | - Carlos Bezuidenhout
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management (UESM)-Microbiology, North-West University, 2531 Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Renata C Picão
- Medical Microbiology Department, Paulo de Góes Microbiology Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Shaikh Z Ahammad
- Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016 New Delhi, India
| | - Per Halkjær Nielsen
- Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9210 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Nicholas J Ashbolt
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, 4225 Queensland, Australia
| | - Gianluca Corno
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRSA), 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Despo Fatta-Kassinos
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Nireas International Water Research Center, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Helmut Bürgmann
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Heike Schmitt
- Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology-Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721 Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, 2628 Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Chang-Jun Cha
- Department of Systems Biotechnology and Center for Antibiotic Resistome, Chung-Ang University, 17546 Anseong, Republic of Korea
| | - Amy Pruden
- The Charles Edward Via, Jr., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24060 Virginia, United States
| | - Kornelia Smalla
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Eddie Cytryn
- Department of Soil Chemistry, Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Institute, Agricultural Research Organization, 7528809 Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Yu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085 Beijing, China
| | - Min Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100085 Beijing, China
| | - Yong-Guan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 361021 Xiamen, China
| | - Arnaud Dechesne
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Barth F Smets
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - David W Graham
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K
| | - Michael R Gillings
- School of Natural Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109 New South Wales, Australia
| | - William H Gaze
- University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, TR10 9FE Cornwall, U.K
| | - Célia M Manaia
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Pedro J J Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, 77005 Texas, United States
| | - Martin J Blaser
- Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, 08854 New Jersey, United States
| | - James M Tiedje
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 Michigan, United States
| | - Edward Topp
- London Research and Development Centre (LRDC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 4T3 Ontario, Canada
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 99077 Hong Kong, China
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22
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Marutescu LG, Popa M, Gheorghe-Barbu I, Barbu IC, Rodríguez-Molina D, Berglund F, Blaak H, Flach CF, Kemper MA, Spießberger B, Wengenroth L, Larsson DGJ, Nowak D, Radon K, de Roda Husman AM, Wieser A, Schmitt H, Pircalabioru Gradisteanu G, Vrancianu CO, Chifiriuc MC. Wastewater treatment plants, an "escape gate" for ESCAPE pathogens. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1193907. [PMID: 37293232 PMCID: PMC10244645 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1193907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotics are an essential tool of modern medicine, contributing to significantly decreasing mortality and morbidity rates from infectious diseases. However, persistent misuse of these drugs has accelerated the evolution of antibiotic resistance, negatively impacting clinical practice. The environment contributes to both the evolution and transmission of resistance. From all anthropically polluted aquatic environments, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are probably the main reservoirs of resistant pathogens. They should be regarded as critical control points for preventing or reducing the release of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) into the natural environment. This review focuses on the fate of the pathogens Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacteriaceae spp. (ESCAPE) in WWTPs. All ESCAPE pathogen species, including high-risk clones and resistance determinants to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems, colistin, and multi-drug resistance platforms, were detected in wastewater. The whole genome sequencing studies demonstrate the clonal relationships and dissemination of Gram-negative ESCAPE species into the wastewater via hospital effluents and the enrichment of virulence and resistance determinants of S. aureus and enterococci in WWTPs. Therefore, the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes regarding the removal of clinically relevant ARB species and ARGs, as well as the influence of water quality factors on their performance, should be explored and monitored, along with the development of more effective treatments and appropriate indicators (ESCAPE bacteria and/or ARGs). This knowledge will allow the development of quality standards for point sources and effluents to consolidate the WWTP barrier role against the environmental and public health AR threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luminita Gabriela Marutescu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Marcela Popa
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Irina Gheorghe-Barbu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Ilda Czobor Barbu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Daloha Rodríguez-Molina
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology – IBE, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany
| | - Fanny Berglund
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research in Gothenburg (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Hetty Blaak
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Carl-Fredrik Flach
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research in Gothenburg (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Merel Aurora Kemper
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Beate Spießberger
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Wengenroth
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - D. G. Joakim Larsson
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research in Gothenburg (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Dennis Nowak
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany
| | - Katja Radon
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ana Maria de Roda Husman
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Wieser
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Heike Schmitt
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Gratiela Pircalabioru Gradisteanu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Romanian Academy of Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Corneliu Ovidiu Vrancianu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Section, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- The Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
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23
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Calderón-Franco D, Corbera-Rubio F, Cuesta-Sanz M, Pieterse B, de Ridder D, van Loosdrecht MCM, van Halem D, Laureni M, Weissbrodt DG. Microbiome, resistome and mobilome of chlorine-free drinking water treatment systems. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 235:119905. [PMID: 36989799 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are designed to remove physical, chemical, and biological contaminants. However, until recently, the role of DWTPs in minimizing the cycling of antibiotic resistance determinants has got limited attention. In particular, the risk of selecting antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is largely overlooked in chlorine-free DWTPs where biological processes are applied. Here, we combined high-throughput quantitative PCR and metagenomics to analyze the abundance and dynamics of microbial communities, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across the treatment trains of two chlorine-free DWTPs involving dune-based and reservoir-based systems. The microbial diversity of the water increased after all biological unit operations, namely rapid and slow sand filtration (SSF), and granular activated carbon filtration. Both DWTPs reduced the concentration of ARGs and MGEs in the water by circa 2.5 log gene copies mL-1, despite their relative increase in the disinfection sub-units (SSF in dune-based and UV treatment in reservoir-based DWTPs). The total microbial concentration was also reduced (2.5 log units), and none of the DWTPs enriched for bacteria containing genes linked to antibiotic resistance. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of chlorine-free DWTPs in supplying safe drinking water while reducing the concentration of antibiotic resistance determinants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that monitors the presence and dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants in chlorine-free DWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Brent Pieterse
- Dunea, Utility for drinking water and nature conservancy, Plein van de Verenigde Naties 11-15, 2719 EG Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
| | - David de Ridder
- Evides Water Company N.V., Schaardijk 150, 3063 NH, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - David G Weissbrodt
- Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Division of Analysis and Control of Microbial Systems, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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24
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Wei T, Wang Z, Yang Y, Xiang W, Liu Y, Wu B, Cui X, Guo B, Zhou Y. Microbial niches and dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes in a bio-enhanced granular-activated carbon biofilm treating greywater. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 331:138774. [PMID: 37100251 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Accumulation and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in greywater treatment systems present risks for its reuse. In this study, a gravity flow self-supplying oxygen (O2) bio-enhanced granular activated carbon dynamic biofilm reactor (BhGAC-DBfR) was developed to treat greywater. Maximum removal efficiencies were achieved at saturated/unsaturated ratios (RSt/Ust) of 1:1.1 for chemical oxygen demand (97.6 ± 1.5%), linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) (99.2 ± 0.5%), NH4+-N (99.3 ± 0.7%) and total nitrogen (85.3 ± 3.2%). Microbial communities were significantly different at various RSt/Ust and reactor positions (P < 0.05). The unsaturated zone with low RSt/Ust showed more abundant microorganisms than the saturated zone with high RSt/Ust. The reactor-top community was predominant by aerobic nitrification (Nitrospira) and LAS biodegradation (Pseudomonas, Rhodobacter and Hydrogenophaga) related genera; but reactor-bottom community was predominant by anaerobic denitrification and organics removal related genera (Dechloromonas and Desulfovibrio). Most of the ARGs (e.g., intI-1, sul1, sul2 and korB) were accumulated in the biofilm, which were closely associated with microbial communities at reactor top and stratification. The saturated zone can achieve over 80% removal of the tested ARGs at all operation Phases. Results suggested that BhGAC-DBfR can provide assistance in blocking the environment dissemination of ARGs during greywater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wei
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ziqi Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ying Yang
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Wanchen Xiang
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ying Liu
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Beibei Wu
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Xiaocai Cui
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Bing Guo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
| | - Yun Zhou
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
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25
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Sivalingam P, Sabatino R, Sbaffi T, Fontaneto D, Corno G, Di Cesare A. Extracellular DNA includes an important fraction of high-risk antibiotic resistance genes in treated wastewaters. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 323:121325. [PMID: 36828358 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants are among the main hotspots for the release of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into the environment. ARGs in treated wastewater can be found in the intracellular DNA (iDNA) and in the extracellular DNA (eDNA). In this study, we investigated the fate and the distribution (either in eDNA or in iDNA) of ARGs in the treated wastewaters pre and post-disinfection by shotgun metagenomics. The richness of the intracellular resistome was found to be higher than the extracellular one. However, the latter included different high risk ARGs. About 11% of the recovered metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) from the extracted DNA was positive for at least one ARG and, among them, several were positive for more ARGs. The high-risk ARG bacA was the most frequently detected gene among the MAGs. The disinfection demonstrated to be an important driver of the composition of the antibiotic resistomes. Our results demonstrated that eDNA represents an important fraction of the overall ARGs, including a number of high-risk ARGs, which reach the environment with treated wastewater effluents. The studied disinfections only marginally affect the whole antibiotic resistome but cause important shifts from intracellular to extracellular DNA, potentially threating human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Periyasamy Sivalingam
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy
| | - Raffaella Sabatino
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy
| | - Tomasa Sbaffi
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy
| | - Diego Fontaneto
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy
| | - Gianluca Corno
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy.
| | - Andrea Di Cesare
- National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania, Italy
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26
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Shukla R, Ahammad SZ. Performance assessment of a modified trickling filter and conventional activated sludge process along with tertiary treatment in removing emerging pollutants from urban sewage. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 858:159833. [PMID: 36374754 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The absence of effective wastewater treatment technology to eliminate emerging pollutants from municipal sewage has become a pressing issue. In this study, the efficacy of a novel modified trickling filter (MTF), conventional activated sludge process (ASP) and two tertiary systems (UV and ozonation) were compared in eliminating antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from urban sewage. MTF and ASP resulted in >1 log unit reduction in the abundance of ARB, while for ARGs, the removal was observed in the range of 0.1 to 1.7 log units. In MTF, ARGs were substantially removed in the aerobic zone compared to the anoxic zone. The relative abundance of most of the ARGs either decreased or remained unchanged during MTF and ASP operations. However, the relative abundance of most of the ARGs increased in the secondary sludge generated from ASP. The concentration of PPCPs such as atenolol, sulfamethazine, triclosan, and ranitidine was reduced by MTF by >80 %. Overall, the results indicated that MTF followed by ozonation is the most effective combination for removing emerging contaminants from municipal sewage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rishabh Shukla
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Shaikh Ziauddin Ahammad
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
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27
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Mosaka TBM, Unuofin JO, Daramola MO, Tizaoui C, Iwarere SA. Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes in wastewater streams: Current challenges and future perspectives. Front Microbiol 2023; 13:1100102. [PMID: 36733776 PMCID: PMC9888414 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1100102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of antibiotics, which was once regarded as a timely medical intervention now leaves a bitter aftertaste: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the unregulated use of these compounds and the poor management receiving wastewaters before discharge into pristine environments or the recycling of such treated waters. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been regarded a central sink for the mostly unmetabolized or partially metabolised antibiotics and is also pivotal to the incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARBs) and their resistance genes (ARGs), which consistently contribute to the global disease burden and deteriorating prophylaxis. In this regard, we highlighted WWTP-antibiotics consumption-ARBs-ARGs nexus, which might be critical to understanding the epidemiology of AMR and also guide the precise prevention and remediation of such occurrences. We also discovered the unsophistication of conventional WWTPs and treatment techniques for adequate treatment of antibiotics, ARBs and ARGs, due to their lack of compliance with environmental sustainability, then ultimately assessed the prospects of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). Herein, we observed that CAP technologies not only has the capability to disinfect wastewater polluted with copious amounts of chemicals and biologicals, but also have a potential to augment bioelectricity generation, when integrated into bio electrochemical modules, which future WWTPs should be retrofitted to accommodate. Therefore, further research should be conducted to unveil more of the unknowns, which only a snippet has been highlighted in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thabang B. M. Mosaka
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - John O. Unuofin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Michael O. Daramola
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Chedly Tizaoui
- Water and Resources Recovery Research Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel A. Iwarere
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa,*Correspondence: Samuel A. Iwarere, ✉
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Pillay S, Calderón-Franco D, Urhan A, Abeel T. Metagenomic-based surveillance systems for antibiotic resistance in non-clinical settings. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1066995. [PMID: 36532424 PMCID: PMC9755710 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1066995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The success of antibiotics as a therapeutic agent has led to their ineffectiveness. The continuous use and misuse in clinical and non-clinical areas have led to the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and its genetic determinants. This is a multi-dimensional problem that has now become a global health crisis. Antibiotic resistance research has primarily focused on the clinical healthcare sectors while overlooking the non-clinical sectors. The increasing antibiotic usage in the environment - including animals, plants, soil, and water - are drivers of antibiotic resistance and function as a transmission route for antibiotic resistant pathogens and is a source for resistance genes. These natural compartments are interconnected with each other and humans, allowing the spread of antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer between commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Identifying and understanding genetic exchange within and between natural compartments can provide insight into the transmission, dissemination, and emergence mechanisms. The development of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies has made antibiotic resistance research more accessible and feasible. In particular, the combination of metagenomics and powerful bioinformatic tools and platforms have facilitated the identification of microbial communities and has allowed access to genomic data by bypassing the need for isolating and culturing microorganisms. This review aimed to reflect on the different sequencing techniques, metagenomic approaches, and bioinformatics tools and pipelines with their respective advantages and limitations for antibiotic resistance research. These approaches can provide insight into resistance mechanisms, the microbial population, emerging pathogens, resistance genes, and their dissemination. This information can influence policies, develop preventative measures and alleviate the burden caused by antibiotic resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Pillay
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | | | - Aysun Urhan
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Thomas Abeel
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Duan P, Qian C, Wang X, Jia X, Jiao L, Chen Y. Fabrication and characterization of Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO 2-Co for efficient electrochemical degradation of cephalexin in secondary effluents. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:113842. [PMID: 35843278 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The traditional interlayer of PbO2 electrode possessed many problems, such as short service lifetime and limited specific surface area. Herein, a novel and efficient Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co electrode was conctructed employing cyclic voltammetry to introduce a Co-doped polyaniline interlayer and anodic electrodeposition to synthetize a β-PbO2-Co active layer. Compared with pristine PbO2 electrode, Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co exhibited more compact crystalline shape and higher active sites amounts. Pratically, the electrochemical degradation of 5 mg L-1 cephalexin in real secondary effluents was effectively achieved by the novel anode with 87.42% cephalexin removal and 71.8% COD mineralization after 120 min of 15 mA cm-2 electrolysis. The hydroxyl radical production and electrochemical stability were increased by 3.16 and 3.27 times respectively. The cephalexin degradation pathway was investigated by combining a density functional theory-based theoretical approach and LC-QTrap-MS/MS. The most likely cleavage point of the β-lactam ring was the O=C-N bond, whose attack would produce small molecular compounds containing the thiazole and 4, 6-thiazine rings. Further oxidation produced inorganic ions; quantitative investigations indicated the amino groups to undergo decomposition to form aqueous NH4+, which was further oxidized to NO3-. The accumulation of NO3- and SO42-, combined with a decrease in toxicity toward Escherichia coli, demonstrated the efficient mineralization of cephalexin on the Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co electrode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingzhou Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Institute of Water Environment Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Chang Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Institute of Water Environment Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Xiao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Institute of Water Environment Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Xiaobo Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Institute of Water Environment Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Lixin Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Institute of Water Environment Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
| | - Yu Chen
- Baoding Institute of Environmental Science, Baoding, 071000, China
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Lu J, Yu Z, Ding P, Guo J. Triclosan Promotes Conjugative Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance Genes to Opportunistic Pathogens in Environmental Microbiome. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:15108-15119. [PMID: 36251935 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Although triclosan, as a widely used antiseptic chemical, is known to promote the transmission of antibiotic resistance to diverse hosts in pure culture, it is still unclear whether and how triclosan could affect the transmission of broad-host-range plasmids among complex microbial communities. Here, bacterial culturing, fluorescence-based cell sorting, and high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing were combined to investigate contributions of triclosan on the transfer rate and range of an IncP-type plasmid from a proteobacterial donor to an activated sludge microbiome. Our results demonstrate that triclosan significantly enhances the conjugative transfer of the RP4 plasmid among activated sludge communities at environmentally relevant concentrations. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing on sorted transconjugants demonstrates that triclosan not only promoted the intergenera transfer but also the intragenera transfer of the RP4 plasmid among activated sludge communities. Moreover, triclosan mediated the transfer of the RP4 plasmid to opportunistic human pathogens, for example, Legionella spp. The mechanism of triclosan-mediated conjugative transfer is primarily associated with excessive oxidative stress, followed by increased membrane permeability and provoked SOS response. Our findings offer insights into the impacts of triclosan on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environmental microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Lu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Zhigang Yu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Pengbo Ding
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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Leroy-Freitas D, Machado EC, Torres-Franco AF, Dias MF, Leal CD, Araújo JC. Exploring the microbiome, antibiotic resistance genes, mobile genetic element, and potential resistant pathogens in municipal wastewater treatment plants in Brazil. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 842:156773. [PMID: 35724791 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 06/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been widely investigated in Europe, Asia and North America regarding the occurrence and fate of antibiotic resistance (AR) elements, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria and pathogens. However, monitoring data about AR elements in municipal WWTPs in Brazil are scarce. This study investigated the abundance of intI1, five ARGs (sul1, tetA, blaTEM, ermB and qnrB) and 16S rRNA in raw and treated wastewater of three WWTPs, using different sewage treatments named CAS (Conventional activated sludge), UASB/BTF (UASB followed by biological trickling filter) and MAS/UV (modified activated sludge with UV disinfection stage). Bacterial diversity and the presence of potentially pathogenic groups were also evaluated, and associations between genetic markers and the bacterial populations were presented. All WWTPs decreased the loads of genetic markers finally discharged to receiving water bodies and showed no evidence of being hotspots for antimicrobial resistance amplification in wastewater, since the abundances of intI1 and ARGs within the bacterial population were not increased in the treated effluents. UASB/BTF showed a similar performance to that of the CAS and MAS/UV, reinforcing the sanitary and environmental advantages of this biological treatment, widely applied for wastewater treatment in warm climate regions. Bacterial diversity and richness increased after treatments, and bacterial communities in wastewater samples differed due to catchment areas and treatment typologies. Potential pathogenic population underwent considerable decrease after the treatments; however, strong significant correlations with intI1 and ARGs revealed potential multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas, Arcobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia-Shigella, Stenotrophomonas and Streptococcus) in the treated effluents, although in reduced relative abundances. These are contributive results for understanding the fate of ARGs, MGEs and potential pathogenic bacteria after wastewater treatments, which might support actions to mitigate their release into Brazilian aquatic environments in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Leroy-Freitas
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil
| | - E C Machado
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil
| | - A F Torres-Franco
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil; Institute of Sustainable Processes, Valladolid University, Dr. Mergelina s/n., Valladolid 47011, Spain
| | - M F Dias
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil
| | - C D Leal
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil
| | - J C Araújo
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil.
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Hou L, Li J, Wang H, Chen Q, Su JQ, Gad M, Ahmed W, Yu CP, Hu A. Storm promotes the dissemination of antibiotic resistome in an urban lagoon through enhancing bio-interactions. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 168:107457. [PMID: 35963060 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) and resistant bacteria (ARB) are abundant in stormwater that could cause serious infections, posing a potential threat to public health. However, there is no inference about how stormwater contributes to ARG profiles as well as the dynamic interplay between ARGs and bacteria via vertical gene transfer (VGT) or horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in urban water ecosystems. In this study, the distribution of ARGs, their host communities, and the source and community assembly process of ARGs were investigated in Yundang Lagoon (China) via high-throughput quantitative PCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and application of SourceTracker before, after and recovering from an extreme precipitation event (132.1 mm). The abundance of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) was the highest one day after precipitation and then decreased 2 days after precipitation and so on. Based on SourceTracker and NMDS analysis, the ARG and bacterial communities in lagoon surface water from one day after precipitation were mainly contributed by the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent and effluent. However, the contribution of WWTP to ARG communities was minor 11 days after the precipitation, suggesting that the storm promoted the ARG levels by introducing the input of ARGs, MGEs, and ARB from point and non-point sources, such as sewer overflow and land-applied manure. Based on a novel microbial network analysis framework, the contribution of positive biological interactions between ARGs and MGEs or bacteria was the highest one day after precipitation, indicating a promoted VGT and HGT for ARG dissemination. The microbial networks deconstructed 11 days after precipitation, suggesting the stormwater practices (e.g., tide gate opening, diversion channels, and pumping) alleviated the spread of ARGs. These results advanced our understanding of the distribution and transport of ARGs associated with their source in urban stormwater runoff.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liyuan Hou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jiangwei Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Hongjie Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Qingfu Chen
- Yundang Lake Management Center, Xiamen, Fujian 361004, China
| | - Jian-Qiang Su
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China
| | - Mahmoud Gad
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt
| | - Warish Ahmed
- CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Qld 4102, Australia
| | - Chang-Ping Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Anyi Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
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Wang Y, Han Y, Li L, Liu J, Yan X. Distribution, sources, and potential risks of antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plant: A review. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 310:119870. [PMID: 35921944 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Irrational use of antibiotics produces a large number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) act as important sources and sinks of ARGs, and play an important role in their generation, treatment, and dissemination. This study summarizes the types, concentrations, and factors of ARGs in WWTPs, investigates the sources of ARGs in wastewater, compares the removal efficiencies of different treatment processes on ARGs, and analyzes the potential risks of ARGs accumulation in effluent, sludge and their emission into the air. The results show that the main ARGs detected in the influent of WWTPs are the genes resistant to macrolides (ermB, ermF), tetracyclines (tetW, tetA, tetC), sulfonamides (sul1, sul2), and β-lactams (blaOXA, blaTEM). The concentrations of ARGs in the influent of the WWTPs are 2.23 × 102-3.90 × 109 copies/mL. Wastewater quality and microbial community are the dominant factors that affect the distribution characteristics of ARGs. The accumulation of ARGs in effluent, sludge, and aerosols pose potential risks to the regional ecological environment and human health. Based on these results, research trends with respect to ARGs in WWTPs are also prospected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
| | - Yunping Han
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
| | - Lin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
| | - Junxin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
| | - Xu Yan
- School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453007, PR China.
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Liu H, Li Z, Qiang Z, Karanfil T, Yang M, Liu C. The elimination of cell-associated and non-cell-associated antibiotic resistance genes during membrane filtration processes: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 833:155250. [PMID: 35427607 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
With increasing water reuse as a sustainable water management strategy, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) which have been identified as emerging contaminants in wastewater are attracting global attentions. Given that wastewater treatment plants are now well-established as a sink and source of ARGs in both cell-associated and non-cell-associated forms, a need is acknowledged to reduce their proliferation and protect public health. Due to their different characteristics, cell-associated and non-cell-associated ARGs may have distinct responses to membrane filtration processes which are widely used as advanced treatment to the secondary effluent. This review improves the understanding of the abundance of cell-associated and non-cell-associated ARGs in wastewaters and the secondary effluents and compares the elimination of ARGs in cell-associated and non-cell-associated forms by low-pressure and high-pressure membrane filtration processes. The former process reduces the concentration of cell-associated ARGs by more than 2-logs on average. An increase of the retention efficiency of non-cell-associated ARGs is observed with decreasing molecular weight cut-offs in ultrafiltration. The high-pressure membrane filtration (i.e., nanofiltration and reverse osmosis) can effectively eliminate both cell-associated and non-cell-associated ARGs, with averagely more than 4.6-log reduction. In general, the two forms of ARGs can be removed from water by the membrane filtration processes via the effects of size exclusion, adsorption, and electrostatic repulsion. The size and conformation of cell-associated and non-cell-associated ARGs, characteristics of membranes, coexisting substances, and biofilm formation influence ARG retention. Accumulation and potential proliferation of cell-associated and non-cell-associated ARGs in foulants and concentrate and corresponding control strategies warrant future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Ziqi Li
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhimin Qiang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tanju Karanfil
- Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Anderson, SC 29625, USA
| | - Min Yang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Chao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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35
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Steenbeek R, Timmers PHA, van der Linde D, Hup K, Hornstra L, Been F. Monitoring the exposure and emissions of antibiotic resistance: Co-occurrence of antibiotics and resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants. JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH 2022; 20:1157-1170. [PMID: 36044186 DOI: 10.2166/wh.2022.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new momentum to 'wastewater-based epidemiology' (WBE). This approach can be applied to monitor the levels of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), which in terms are used to make inferences about the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human settlements. However, there is still little information about temporal variability in ARG levels measured in wastewater streams and how these influence the inferences made about the occurrence of AMR in communities. The goal of this study was hence to gain insights into the variability in ARG levels measured in the influent and effluent of two wastewater treatment plants in The Netherlands and link these to levels of antibiotic residues measured in the same samples. Eleven antibiotics were detected, together with all selected ARGs, except for VanB. Among the measured antibiotics, significant positive correlations (p > 0.70) with the corresponding resistance genes and some non-corresponding ARGs were found. Mass loads varied up to a factor of 35 between days and in concomitance with rainfall. Adequate sampling schemes need to be designed to ensure that conclusions are drawn from valid and representative data. Additionally, we advocate for the use of mass loads to interpret levels of AMR measured in wastewater.
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Ferreira C, Abreu-Silva J, Manaia CM. The balance between treatment efficiency and receptor quality determines wastewater impacts on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 434:128933. [PMID: 35460999 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the balance between treatment efficiency and impact caused by urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Four full-scale UWTPs (PT1-PT4) and the receiving river were sampled over four campaigns. The 16 S rRNA gene, two mobile genetic elements (MGEs), eight antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and culturable bacteria were monitored over different treatment stages and in hospital effluent. The bacterial and antibiotic resistance load was not significantly different in the inflow of the four UWTPs (p > 0.01). Biological treatment promoted ARGs reduction values up to 2.5 log-units/mL, while UV (PT1, PT2) or sand filtration/ozonation (PT3) led to removal values < 0.6 log-units/mL. The final effluent of PT3, with the highest removal rates and significantly lower ARGs abundance, was not significantly different from the receiving water body. Emerging ARGs (e.g., blaVIM, blaOXA-48, and blaKPC) were sporadically detected in the river, although more frequent downstream. Hospital effluent might contribute for the occurrence of some, but not all these ARGs in the river. A major conclusion was that the impact of the UWTPs on the river was not only determined by treatment efficiency and final effluent quality, but also by the background contamination of the river and/or dilution rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Ferreira
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Joana Abreu-Silva
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Célia M Manaia
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal.
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37
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Ghose A, Mitra S. Spent waste from edible mushrooms offers innovative strategies for the remediation of persistent organic micropollutants: A review. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 305:119285. [PMID: 35421550 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Urgent and innovative strategies for removal of persistent organic micropollutants (OMPs) in soil, groundwater, and surface water are the need of the hour. OMPs detected in contaminated soils and effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are categorized as environmentally persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPPs), and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), their admixture could cause serious ecological issues to the non-target species. As complete eradication of OMPs is not possible with the extant conventional WWTPs technology, the inordinate and reckless application of OMPs negatively impacts environmental regenerative and resilience capacity. Therefore, the cardinal focus of this review is the bioremediation of persistent OMPs through efficient application of an agro-waste, i.e. spent mushroom waste (SMW). This innovative, green, long-term strategy embedded in the circular economy, based on state of the art information is comprehensively assessed in this paper. SMW accrues ligninolytic enzymes such as laccase and peroxidase, with efficient mechanism to facilitate biodegradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants. It is vital in this context that future research should address immobilization of such enzymes to overcome quantitative and qualitative issues obstructing their widespread use in biodegradation. Therefore, dual benefit is gained from cultivating critical cash crops like mushrooms to meet the escalating demand for food resources and to aid in biodegradation. Hence, mushroom cultivation has positive environmental, social, and economic implications in developing countries like India.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anamika Ghose
- Agro-ecotechnology Laboratory, School of Agro and Rural Technology (SART), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Assam, 781039, India
| | - Sudip Mitra
- Agro-ecotechnology Laboratory, School of Agro and Rural Technology (SART), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Assam, 781039, India; Centre for Disaster Management and Research, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Assam 781039, India.
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Rajabi A, Farajzadeh D, Dehghanzadeh R, Aslani H, Mousavi S, Mosaferi M, Dehghani MH, Asghari FB. Characterization of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria in a municipal water resource recovery facility. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2022; 94:e10750. [PMID: 35765862 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Municipal water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) are important sources of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes (ARB and ARGs). In this study, antibiotic-resistant total heterotrophic bacteria (THBR ) counts (CFU/ml) cultivated from influent, effluent of activated sludge process, and outflow of disinfection unit of an urban WRRF were investigated for the presence of 16, 32, 64, and 128 μg/ml of nine antibiotics. The isolates of Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Escherichia coli obtained from effluent of activated sludge process were subjected for molecular identification by detecting the 16S rRNA gene sequences. Additionally, using the polymerase chain reaction method (PCR), the isolates were investigated for the presence of blaSHV , blaTEM , blaCTX-M , blaVIM , sul1, and qnrS genes. According to the results, the abundance of THBR counts was not significantly reduced by the biological treatment except for cefixime and sulfamethoxazole; it also increased for some antibiotics after disinfection unit. The average removal efficiency of THBR resistant to ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and ceftazidime were 7.9 ± 1.7%, 41.8 ± 2.1%, and 14.4 ± 6.2%, respectively. Also, all the tested isolates were resistant to at least four antibiotics. For all antibiotics, the resistance ratio (THBR /THB) significantly increased in the effluent and after chlorination unit. Among 12 resistant isolates, blaTEM and sul1 genes were the most frequently detected ones involved in 92% and 83% of the isolates, respectively. Both blaTEM and sul1 genes were found in 100% of E. coli, and 83% and 67% of Pseudomonas spp. isolates, respectively. Further efforts are necessary to limit the transmission of ARB and ARGs from WRRFs into the environment and prevent human health threats. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The ratio of resistance significantly increased after biological treatment. Up to 40% of heterotrophic bacteria in the effluent was antibiotic resistant. blaTEM and sul1 genes were more prevalent (92%) in all isolates of bacteria. Both blaTEM and sul1 genes were found in 100% of E. coli isolates. Pseudomonas spp. holds blaTEM and sul1 genes in 83% and 67% of isolates, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akbar Rajabi
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Davoud Farajzadeh
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Reza Dehghanzadeh
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Health and Environment Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Hassan Aslani
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Health and Environment Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Saeid Mousavi
- Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mosaferi
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Health and Environment Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hadi Dehghani
- Institute for Environmental Research, Center for Solid Waste Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farzaneh Baghal Asghari
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Calderón-Franco D, Sarelse R, Christou S, Pronk M, van Loosdrecht MCM, Abeel T, Weissbrodt DG. Metagenomic profiling and transfer dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants in a full-scale granular sludge wastewater treatment plant. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 219:118571. [PMID: 35576763 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
In the One Health context, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are central to safeguarding water resources. Nonetheless, many questions remain about their effectiveness in preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination. Most surveillance studies monitor the levels and removal of selected antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in intracellular DNA (iDNA) extracted from WWTP influents and effluents. The role of extracellular free DNA (exDNA) in wastewater is mostly overlooked. This study analyzed the transfer of ARGs and MGEs in a full-scale Nereda® reactor removing nutrients with aerobic granular sludge. We tracked the composition and fate of the iDNA and exDNA pools of influent, sludge, and effluent samples. Metagenomics was used to profile the microbiome, resistome, and mobilome signatures of iDNA and exDNA extracts. Selected ARGs and MGEs were analyzed by qPCR. From 2,840 ARGs identified, the genes arr-3 (2%), tetC (1.6%), sul1 (1.5%), oqxB (1.2%), and aph(3")-Ib (1.2%) were the most abundant among all sampling points and bioaggregates. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Acidovorax, Rhodoferax, and Streptomyces populations were the main potential hosts of ARGs in the sludge. In the effluent, 478 resistance determinants were detected, of which 89% were from exDNA potentially released by cell lysis during aeration in the reactor. MGEs and multiple ARGs were co-localized on the same extracellular genetic contigs. Total intracellular ARGs decreased 3-42% due to wastewater treatment. However, the ermB and sul1 genes increased by 2 and 1 log gene copies mL-1, respectively, in exDNA from influent to effluent. The exDNA fractions need to be considered in AMR surveillance, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Calderón-Franco
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Roel Sarelse
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Stella Christou
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Mario Pronk
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands; Royal HaskoningDHV, Amersfoort, the Netherlands
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Abeel
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, USA
| | - David G Weissbrodt
- Department of Biotechnology, Weissbrodt Group for Environmental Life Science Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology Section, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, Delft 2629 HZ, the Netherlands.
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Ma X, Dong X, Cai J, Fu C, Yang J, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Wan T, Lin S, Lou Y, Zheng M. Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Changes in Bacterial Communities and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in an Eye Specialty Hospital and a General Hospital Before and After Wastewater Treatment. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:848167. [PMID: 35663906 PMCID: PMC9162037 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.848167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in hospital wastewater poses a great threat to public health, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in reducing the levels of ARB and ARGs. In this study, high-throughput metagenomic sequencing was used to analyze the bacterial community composition and ARGs in two hospitals exposed to different antibiotic use conditions (an eye specialty hospital and a general hospital) before and after wastewater treatment. The results showed that there were various potential pathogenic bacteria in the hospital wastewater, and the abundance and diversity of the influent ARGs in the general hospital were higher than those in the eye hospital. The influent of the eye hospital was mainly composed of Thauera and Pseudomonas, and sul1 (sulfonamide) was the most abundant ARG. The influent of the general hospital contained mainly Aeromonas and Acinetobacter, and tet39 (tetracycline) was the most abundant ARG. Furthermore, co-occurrence network analysis showed that the main bacteria carrying ARGs in hospital wastewater varied with hospital type; the same bacteria in wastewater from different hospitals could carry different ARGs, and the same ARG could also be carried by different bacteria. The changes in the bacterial community and ARG abundance in the effluent from the two hospitals showed that the activated sludge treatment and the direct chlorination disinfection can effectively remove some bacteria and ARGs in wastewater but have limitations. The species diversity increased significantly after the activated sludge treatment, while the direct chlorination disinfection did not increase the diversity. The activated sludge treatment has a better effect on the elimination of ARGs than the direct chlorination disinfection. In summary, we investigated the differences in bacterial communities and ARGs in wastewater from two hospitals exposed to different antibiotic usage conditions, evaluated the effects of different wastewater treatment methods on the bacterial communities and ARGs in hospital wastewater, and recommended appropriate methods for certain clinical environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueli Ma
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xu Dong
- Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Sanitary Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jiabei Cai
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Chunyan Fu
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yuan Liu
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Tian Wan
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
| | - Shudan Lin
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
- Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Sanitary Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yongliang Lou
- Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Sanitary Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Meiqin Zheng
- Eye Hospital and School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Wenzhou, China
- Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Sanitary Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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Huang H, Feng G, Wang M, Liu C, Wu Y, Dong L, Feng L, Zheng X, Chen Y. Nitric Oxide: A Neglected Driver for the Conjugative Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance Genes among Wastewater Microbiota. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:6466-6478. [PMID: 35512279 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The dissemination of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater is becoming an urgent concern. Previous studies mainly focused on the effects of coexisting contaminants on plasmid conjugation, but ignored the potential contribution of some byproducts inevitably released from wastewater treatment processes. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that nitric oxide (NO), an intermediate of the wastewater nitrogen cycle, can significantly boost the conjugative transfer of plasmid RP4 from Escherichia coli K12 to different recipients (E. coli HB101, Salmonella typhimurium, and wastewater microbiota). Phenotypic and genotypic tests confirmed that NO-induced promotion was not attributed to the SOS response, a well-recognized driver for horizontal gene transfer. Instead, NO exposure increased the outer membrane permeability of both the donor and recipient by inhibiting the expression of key genes involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis (such as waaJ), thereby lowering the membrane barrier for conjugation. On the other hand, NO exposure not only resulted in the accumulation of intracellular tryptophan but also triggered the deficiency of intracellular methionine, both of which were validated to play key roles in regulating the global regulatory genes (korA, korB, and trbA) of plasmid RP4, activating its encoding transfer apparatus (represented by trfAp and trbBp). Overall, our findings highlighted the risks of NO in spreading ARGs among wastewater microbiota and updated the regulation mechanism of plasmid conjugation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haining Huang
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Guanqun Feng
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Meng Wang
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Yang Wu
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Lei Dong
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
- Shanghai Municipal Engn Design Inst Grp Co. Ltd., 901 Zhongshan North Second Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Leiyu Feng
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Xiong Zheng
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Yinguang Chen
- State key laboratory of pollution control and Resource reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
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Damtie MM, Lee J, Shin J, Shin SG, Son H, Wang J, Kim YM. Identification of factors affecting removal of antibiotic resistance genes in full-scale anaerobic digesters treating organic solid wastes. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 351:126929. [PMID: 35247556 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Efficiencies of removing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and intI1 were explored using eight full-scale anaerobic digesters. The digesters demonstrated different characteristics on the basis of substrate types (food waste, manure or sludge); configuration (single or two-stage); temperature (psychrophilic, mesophilic or thermophilic); hydraulic retention time (HRT) (9.7-44 days); and operation mode (continuous stirred tank reactor or plug flow reactor). Digesters' configuration or operating parameters showed a greater effect on abundance of ARGs than the type of input substrate. Redundancy analysis (RDA) accounted for 85.2% of the total variances and digesters with the same configuration and operational conditions showed similar performance for removal of ARGs. The highest efficiencies of removing ARGs (99.99%) were observed in two-stage thermophilic digesters with relatively long HRTs (32 days). The lowest removal efficiency (97.93%) was observed in single-stage mesophilic with relatively short HRTs (9.7 days), likely due to vertical and horizontal gene transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mekdimu Mezemir Damtie
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
| | - Jangwoo Lee
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea
| | - Jingyeong Shin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Gu Shin
- Department of Energy Engineering, Future Convergence Technology Research Institute, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam 52828, Republic of Korea
| | - Heejong Son
- Busan Water Quality Institute, Busan 50804, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinhua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment in Universities of Shandong, College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Taiwan 271018, China
| | - Young Mo Kim
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
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Teban-Man A, Szekeres E, Fang P, Klümper U, Hegedus A, Baricz A, Berendonk TU, Pârvu M, Coman C. Municipal Wastewaters Carry Important Carbapenemase Genes Independent of Hospital Input and Can Mirror Clinical Resistance Patterns. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0271121. [PMID: 35234513 PMCID: PMC8941857 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02711-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The spatiotemporal variation of several carbapenemase-encoding genes (CRGs) was investigated in the influent and effluent of municipal WWTPs, with or without hospital sewage input. Correlations among gene abundances, bacterial community composition, and wastewater quality parameters were tested to identify possible predictors of CRGs presence. Also, the possible role of wastewaters in mirroring clinical resistance is discussed. The taxonomic groups and gene abundances showed an even distribution among wastewater types, meaning that hospital sewage does not influence the microbial diversity and the CRG pool. The bacterial community was composed mainly of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Patescibacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Acinetobacter spp. was the most abundant group and had the majority of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) positively correlated with CRGs. This agrees with recent reports on clinical data. The influent samples were dominated by blaKPC, as opposed to effluent, where blaIMP was dominant. Also, blaIMP was the most frequent CRG family observed to correlate with bacterial taxa, especially with the Mycobacterium genus in effluent samples. Bacterial load, blaNDM, blaKPC, and blaOXA-48 abundances were positively correlated with BOD5, TSS, HEM, Cr, Cu, and Fe concentrations in wastewaters. When influent gene abundance values were converted into population equivalent (PE) data, the highest copies/1 PE were identified for blaKPC and blaOXA-48, agreeing with previous studies regarding clinical isolates. Both hospital and non-hospital-type samples followed a similar temporal trend of CRG incidence, but with differences among gene groups. Colder seasons favored the presence of blaNDM, blaKPC and blaOXA-48, whereas warmer temperatures show increased PE values for blaVIM and blaIMP. IMPORTANCE Wastewater-based epidemiology has recently been recognized as a valuable, cost-effective tool for antimicrobial resistance surveillance. It can help gain insights into the characteristics and distribution of antibiotic resistance elements at a local, national, and even global scale. In this study, we investigated the possible use of municipal wastewaters in the surveillance of clinically relevant carbapenemase-encoding genes (CRGs), seen as critical antibiotic resistance determinants. In this matter, our results highlight positive correlations among CRGs, microbial diversity, and wastewater physical and chemical parameters. Identified predictors can provide valuable data regarding the level of raw and treated wastewater contamination with these important antibiotic resistance genes. Also, wastewater-based gene abundances were used for the first time to observe possible spatiotemporal trends of CRGs incidence in the general population. Therefore, possible hot spots of carbapenem resistance could be easily identified at the community level, surpassing the limitations of health care-associated settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adela Teban-Man
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Edina Szekeres
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Peiju Fang
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute of Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Uli Klümper
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute of Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Adriana Hegedus
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andreea Baricz
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | | | - Marcel Pârvu
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Cristian Coman
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Gmurek M, Borowska E, Schwartz T, Horn H. Does light-based tertiary treatment prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance genes? Performance, regrowth and future direction. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 817:153001. [PMID: 35031375 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The common occurrence of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) originating from pathogenic and facultative pathogenic bacteria pose a high risk to aquatic environments. Low removal of ARGs in conventional wastewater treatment processes and horizontal dissemination of resistance genes between environmental bacteria and human pathogens have made antibiotic resistance evolution a complex global health issue. The phenomenon of regrowth of bacteria after disinfection raised some concerns regarding the long-lasting safety of treated waters. Despite the inactivation of living antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), the possibility of transferring intact and liberated DNA containing ARGs remains. A step in this direction would be to apply new types of disinfection methods addressing this issue in detail, such as light-based advanced oxidation, that potentially enhance the effect of direct light interaction with DNA. This study is devoted to comprehensively and critically review the current state-of-art for light-driven disinfection. The main focus of the article is to provide an insight into the different photochemical disinfection methods currently being studied worldwide with respect to ARGs removal as an alternative to conventional methods. The systematic comparison of UV/chlorination, UV/H2O2, sulfate radical based-AOPs, photocatalytic processes and photoFenton considering their mode of action on molecular level, operational parameters of the processes, and overall efficiency of removal of ARGs is presented. An in-depth discussion of different light-dependent inactivation pathways, influence of DBP and DOM on ARG removal and the potential bacterial regrowth after treatment is presented. Based on presented revision the risk of ARG transfer from reactivated bacteria has been evaluated, leading to a future direction for research addressing the challenges of light-based disinfection technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gmurek
- Department of Molecular Engineering, Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, 90-924 Lodz, Poland; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engler-Bunte-Institut, Water Chemistry and Water Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Functional Interfaces, Microbiology/Molecular Biology Department, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
| | - E Borowska
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engler-Bunte-Institut, Water Chemistry and Water Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - T Schwartz
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Functional Interfaces, Microbiology/Molecular Biology Department, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - H Horn
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engler-Bunte-Institut, Water Chemistry and Water Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany; DVGW German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water Research Laboratories, Water Chemistry and Water Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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Li H, Luo QP, Pu Q, Yang XR, An XL, Zhu D, Su JQ. Earthworms reduce the dissemination potential of antibiotic resistance genes by changing bacterial co-occurrence patterns in soil. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 426:128127. [PMID: 34953254 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Globally distributed earthworms affect compositions of soil compounds, microbial community structures, as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Compared to their surroundings, earthworm gut is a simpler environment which could filter out microbes when soil passes through it. However, little is known about how earthworms affect the dissemination of ARGs in soil, and the understanding of the relationship between microbe-microbe interactions and ARGs is still lacking. Here, we designed a microcosm experiment with earthworm addition, and determined bacterial and fungal community compositions based on amplicon sequencing. We also examined mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and ARGs in earthworm gut and soils using high-throughput qPCR. The results showed significant differences of bacterial, fungal and ARG patterns between gut and soil. Earthworms indirectly impacted the patterns of ARGs in soils by affecting bacterial communities and soil properties, which play key roles in the distribution of ARGs and MGEs. The absolute abundances of MGEs in earthworm gut were significantly lower than those in soils, and earthworms reduce the absolute abundance of MGEs in soils. Earthworms changed the microbial co-occurrence patterns, and reduced bacterial connectivity, which were significantly and positively correlated with MGE abundance. These results highlight the importance of earthworm on the distribution and dissemination of ARGs in soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hu Li
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qiu-Ping Luo
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China; College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Qiang Pu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China
| | - Xiao-Ru Yang
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xin-Li An
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dong Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jian-Qiang Su
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
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46
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Yang Y, Che Y, Liu L, Wang C, Yin X, Deng Y, Yang C, Zhang T. Rapid absolute quantification of pathogens and ARGs by nanopore sequencing. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 809:152190. [PMID: 34890655 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Compositional nature of relative abundance data in the current standard microbiome studies limits microbial dynamics interpretations and cross-sample comparisons. Here, we demonstrate the first rapid (1-h sequencing) method coupling Nanopore metagenomic sequencing with cellular spike-in to facilitate the absolute quantification and removal assessment of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Nanopore sequencing-based quantification results for both simple mock community and complex real environmental samples showed a high consistency with those from the widely-used Illumina and culture-based approaches. Implementing such method, we quantified 46 predominant putative pathogenic species, and 361 ARGs in three WWTP sample sets. Though high log removals of dominant pathogens (2.23 logs) and ARGs (1.98 logs) were achieved, complete removal of all pathogens and ARGs were not achieved. Noticeably, Mycobacterium spp., Clostridium_P perfringens, and Borrelia hermsii exhibited low removal, and 13 ARGs even increased in absolute abundance after the treatment. Our proposed approach manifested its profound ability in providing absolute quantitation information guiding wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance and quantitative risk assessment facilitating microbial hazards management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Yang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - You Che
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaole Yin
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yu Deng
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology for Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Centre for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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47
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Miłobedzka A, Ferreira C, Vaz-Moreira I, Calderón-Franco D, Gorecki A, Purkrtova S, Dziewit L, Singleton CM, Nielsen PH, Weissbrodt DG, Manaia CM. Monitoring antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater environments: The challenges of filling a gap in the One-Health cycle. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127407. [PMID: 34629195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a global problem requiring international cooperation and coordinated action. Global monitoring must rely on methods available and comparable across nations to quantify AR occurrence and identify sources and reservoirs, as well as paths of AR dissemination. Numerous analytical tools that are gaining relevance in microbiology, have the potential to be applied to AR research. This review summarizes the state of the art of AR monitoring methods, considering distinct needs, objectives and available resources. Based on the overview of distinct approaches that are used or can be adapted to monitor AR, it is discussed the potential to establish reliable and useful monitoring schemes that can be implemented in distinct contexts. This discussion places the environmental monitoring within the One-Health approach, where two types of risk, dissemination across distinct environmental compartments, and transmission to humans, must be considered. The plethora of methodological approaches to monitor AR and the variable features of the monitored sites challenge the capacity of the scientific community and policy makers to reach a common understanding. However, the dialogue between different methods and the production of action-oriented data is a priority. The review aims to warm up this discussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Miłobedzka
- Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Catarina Ferreira
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ivone Vaz-Moreira
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Adrian Gorecki
- Department of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Sabina Purkrtova
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Lukasz Dziewit
- Department of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Caitlin M Singleton
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Per Halkjær Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | | | - Célia M Manaia
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal.
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48
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Shin J, Choi S, Park CM, Wang J, Kim YM. Reduction of antibiotic resistome in influent of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) via a chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) process. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 286:131569. [PMID: 34284223 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) has been considered for maximizing wastewater energy recovery by enhancing the carbon captured through the primary treatment. However, evaluating the potential of CEPT as a primary treatment process for removing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the influent from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has seldom been investigated. In this study, CEPT was conducted to assess simultaneous reduction of 13 major targeted ARGs and common pollutants in wastewater compared with primary sedimentation alone (non-CEPT). CEPT processes using three types of coagulants (PACl, FeCl3 and alum) effectively reduced absolute abundance of ARGs and intI1 in the influent from municipal WWTP. Average log-removal of absolute abundance of ARGs was achieved up to 1.77 ± 0.41 along with 90% turbidity reduction compared to non-CEPT. Through the simultaneous reduction of ARGs and intI1 genes during a CEPT process, ARGs proliferation may be limited directly through reduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria or indirectly through decreasing the possibility of horizontal gene transfer by intI1 removal. Reduction of ARGs and intI1 was improved by increasing coagulants' doses: abundances of residual ARGs under optimal dose conditions were similar, regardless of the different characteristics of coagulant types. The strongly positive correlation between reduction of turbidity/total phosphorus (T-P) and ARGs was explored, identifying that turbidity or T-P might be suitable indicators linked with variations in the abundance of ARGs during CEPT. As a result, CEPT may prove promising in efforts to control ARGs flowing into a WWTP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyeong Shin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, 04763, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangki Choi
- School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang Min Park
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinhua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment in Universities of Shandong, College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, 271018, China.
| | - Young Mo Kim
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, 04763, Republic of Korea.
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49
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Tan L, Zhang C, Liu F, Chen P, Wei X, Li H, Yi G, Xu Y, Zheng X. Three-compartment septic tanks as sustainable on-site treatment facilities? Watch out for the potential dissemination of human-associated pathogens and antibiotic resistance. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 300:113709. [PMID: 34547574 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Improved sanitation is critical important to reduce the spread of human deposited pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In the China's rural "Toilet Revolution", three-compartment septic tanks (SPTs) are widely used as household domestic sewage treatment facilities. The effluents of SPTs are encouraged to be used as fertilizer in agriculture. However, whether SPT could eliminate fecal pathogens and ARGs is still unrevealed which is crucial in risk assessment of SPT effluent utilization. Herein, we employed metagenomic sequencing to investigate the pathogens and ARGs in rural household SPTs from Tianjin, China. We found that rural household SPT effluents conserved pathogens comparable to that of the influents. A total of 441 ARGs conferring resistance to 26 antibiotic classes were observed in rural household SPTs, with the relative abundance ranging from 709 to 1800 ppm. Results of metagenomic assembly indicated that some ARG-MGE-carrying contigs were carried by pathogens, which may pose risk to human and animal health after being introduced to the environment. This study raises the question of SPTs as sustainable on-site treatment facilities for rural domestic sewage and underscores the need for more attention to the propagation and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant pathogens from SPT to the environments, animals, and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Tan
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Chunxue Zhang
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Peizhen Chen
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Xiaocheng Wei
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Houyu Li
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Gao Yi
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China.
| | - Xiangqun Zheng
- Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300191, China.
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50
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Wang R, Ji M, Zhai H, Guo Y, Liu Y. Occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in WWTP effluent-receiving water bodies and reclaimed wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 796:148919. [PMID: 34273824 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing concern on the fate and the consequent ecological or health risks of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in natural or artificial water environment. The effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been reported to be an important source of antibiotics and ARGs in the environment. WWTP effluent could be discharged into surface water bodies or recycled, either of which could lead to different exposure risks. The impact of WWTP effluents on the levels of antibiotics and ARGs in effluent-receiving water bodies and the removal efficiency of antibiotics and ARGs in reclaimed wastewater treatment plants (RWTPs) were seldom simultaneously investigated. Thus, in this study, we investigated the occurrence of antibiotics and ARGs in four WWTP effluents, and their downstream effluent-receiving water bodies and RWTPs in seasons of low-water-level. The total concentrations of ofloxacin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, roxithromycin, azithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, and sulfamethoxazole in the secondary effluents were 1441.6-4917.6 ng L-1. Ofloxacin had the highest concentration. The absolute and relative abundances of total ARGs (qnrD, qnrS, ermA, ermB, tetA, tetQ, sul1, and sul2) in the secondary effluents were 103-104 copies mL-1 and 10-4-10-2 ARG/16S rRNA. Sul1 and sul2 were the major species with the highest detection frequencies and levels. In most cases, WWTP effluents were not the major contributors to the levels and species of antibiotics and ARGs in the surface water bodies. Four RWTPs removed 43.5-98.9% of antibiotics and - 0.19-2.91 log of ARGs. Antibiotics and ARGs increased in chlorination, ozonation and filtration units. Antibiotics had significantly positive correlations with ARGs, biological oxygen demands, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and ammonia nitrogen in the four effluent-receiving water bodies. In RWTPs, the total concentrations of antibiotics showed a significant positive correlation with the total abundance of ARGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rumeng Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Min Ji
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongyan Zhai
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Yujing Guo
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yuan Liu
- North China Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute Co., LTD, Olympic Road, 300381, China
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