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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 Res 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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