scholarly journals Distribution of antibiotic resistance genes and their association with bacteria and viruses in decentralized sewage treatment facilities

Author(s):  
Jiaheng Zhao ◽  
Bing Li ◽  
Pin Lv ◽  
Jiahui Hou ◽  
Yong Qiu ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Harmanpreet Sidhu ◽  
Hee-Sung Bae ◽  
Andrew Ogram ◽  
George O’Connor ◽  
Fahong Yu

Spread of biosolids-borne antibiotic resistance is a growing public and environmental health concern. Herein we conducted incubation experiments involving biosolids, derived from sewage treatment plants, and biosolids-amended soil. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was employed to assess responses of select antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile elements to environmentally relevant concentrations of two biosolids-borne antibiotics, azithromycin (AZ) and ciprofloxacin (CIP). Additionally, we examined sequence distribution of gyrA (encoding DNA gyrase; site of action of CIP) to assess potential shifts in genotype. Increasing antibiotic concentrations generally increased the transcriptional activities of qnrS (encoding CIP resistance) and ermB and mefE (encoding AZ resistance). The transcriptional activity of intl1 , a marker of Class 1 integrons, was unaffected by CIP or AZ concentrations, but biosolids amendment increased intl1 activity in the soil by 4 to 5 times which persisted throughout incubation. While the dominant gyrA sequences found herein were unrelated to known CIP-resistant genotypes, the increasing CIP concentrations significantly decreased the diversity of genes encoding gyrA , suggesting changes in microbial community structures. This study suggests that biosolids harbor transcriptionally active ARGs and mobile elements that could survive and spread in biosolids-amended soils. However, more research is warranted to investigate these trends under field conditions. IMPORTANCE Although previous studies have indicated that biosolids may be important spreaders of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in environments, the potential activities of ARGs or their responses to environmental parameters have been understudied. This study highlights that certain biosolids-borne antibiotics can induce transcriptional activities of ARGs and mobile genetic elements in biosolids and biosolids-amended soil, even when present at environmentally relevant concentrations. Furthermore, these antibiotics can alter the structure of microbial population expressing ARGs. Our findings indicate the bioavailability of the antibiotics in biosolids and provide evidence that biosolids can promote the activities and dissemination of ARGs and mobile genes in biosolids and soils that receive contaminated biosolids; thus, underscoring the importance of investigating anthropogenically-induced antibiotic resistance in the environment under real-world scenarios.


Entecho ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Ivan Karpíšek ◽  
Jitka Zachová ◽  
Dana Vejmelková ◽  
Vladimír Sýkora

Aktivovaný kal na čistírnách odpadních vod je neustále vystavován nízkým koncentracím antimikrobiálních látek a dalších léčiv. To vyvolává otázku, jak mikroorganismy k těmto látkám na čistírně odpadních vod přistupují. Zda jsou schopny se v tomto prostředí na tyto látky adaptovat, degradovat je, případně je využít jako substrát. Nebo jestli jsou tyto látky aktivovaným kalem opomíjeny. Pro posouzení adaptace aktivovaného kalu byla využita metoda PCR pro sledování genů resistence a testy biologické rozložitelnosti. Pro testy byl využit aktivovaný kal z ČOV a kal adaptovaný v laboratorních SBR modelech při koncentracích antibiotik 500 ng∙l−1 a 500 μg∙l−1. Biologická rozložitelnost byla posuzována dle normy ČSN ISO 14593. Testované látky byly sledovány pomocí skupinového stanovení celkového anorganického uhlíku. Jako testované látky byly vybrány: benzylpenicilin, ampicilin, streptomycin, erythromycin, chloramfenikol, sulfamethoxazol a trimetoprim. Aktivovaný kal z čistírny odpadních vod neměl vyvinutou aktivitu k biodegradaci testovaných antibiotik. Je pravděpodobné, že vysoké zatížení snadno biologicky rozložitelným substrátem a krátké zdržení odpadní vody na ČOV, vede k tomu, že mikroorganismy aktivovaného kalu nejsou nuceny tyto látky aktivně utilizovat a brání se jim pouze tvorbou obranných mechanismů pomocí genů antibiotické resistence. Nízké koncentrace antibiotik v SBR modelech vytvářely selekční tlak na mikroorganismy a podněcovaly šíření genů antibiotické resistence. English Activated sludge in wastewater treatment plants is constantly exposed to low concentrations of antimicrobials and other drugs. This raises the question of how microorganisms approach to these substances in the sewage treatment plant. Whether they can adapt, degrade, or use antibiotics as a substrate in this environment or the activated sludge neglects these substances. To assess the adaptation of activated sludge, the PCR method for monitoring antibiotic resistance genes and biodegradability tests were used. These tests were carried out with activated sludge from WWTP and sludge adapted in laboratory SBR models at 500 ng∙l−1 and 500 μg∙l−1 of chosen antibiotics. Their biodegradability was assessed according to ČSN ISO 14593. The tested substances were monitored by group determination of total inorganic carbon. The chosen substances were: benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, streptomycin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. Activated sludge had no developed activity for biodegradation of tested antibiotics. It is likely that the high load of readily biodegradable substrate and the short retention of the wastewater at the WWTP lead to the activated sludge not being forced to actively utilize these substances and will only prevent from them by forming defence mechanisms using antibiotic resistance genes. Low concentrations of antibiotics in SBR models produced selective pressure on microorganisms and stimulated the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.


Author(s):  
Lihua Sun ◽  
Hao Tong ◽  
Cheng Gao ◽  
Yehui Liu ◽  
Cuimin Feng

Abstract Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), as a new type of environmental pollutant which threaten human health, have been detected in the effluent of sewage treatment systems. In this study, the removal from water of ARGs, 16S rRNA, class 1 integron (intI1), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were investigated using processes combining nano-iron (nFe), ultrasound (US), activated persulfate (PS) and ultrafiltration (UF). The oxidation mechanism was also studied. The results showed that both nFe and US activation could improve the oxidative effect of PS, and the effect of nFe was better than that of US. Compared with PS-UF, nFe/PS-UF and US/PS-UF significantly enhanced the removal of various ARGs and DOC. nFe/PS-UF was the most effective treatment, reducing cell-associated and cell-free ARGs by 1.74–3.14-log and 1.00–2.61-log, respectively, while removing 30% of DOC. Pre-oxidation methods using PS, nFe/PS, and US/PS significantly enhanced the efficacy of UF for removing DOC with molecular weights above 50 kDa and below 10 kDa, but the removal of DOC between 10 and 50 kDa decreased. The free radicals SO4·− and ·OH were shown to participate in the process of ARGs oxidation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Hongwei Sun

Due to the irrational use of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes are widely present in the environmental media of our lives. Antibiotics have potential environmental and public health risks, and they bring harm to the environment in which we live. Sewage treatment plants are antibiotic resistance genes’ repository and important process for removing antibiotic resistance genes. The different processes they use in sewage treatment plants, the effect of removing antibiotic resistance genes is also different. In order to discuss the impact of different processes on the removal of antibiotic resistance genes, we selected three wastewater treatment plant samples with different treatment processes for testing, and used the fluorescence quantitative analysis technology of 16SrRNA gene to study the abundance, distribution and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes in different treatment processes. The results showed that the AAO process, the oxidation ditch process, and the CASS process all have high removal effect on antibiotic resistance genes, they all can reduce the diversity and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes, and the oxidation ditch process is the best process of the three treatment processes.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5428
Author(s):  
Yanli Fu ◽  
Aisheng Zhang ◽  
Tengfei Guo ◽  
Ying Zhu ◽  
Yanqiu Shao

Sewage treatment plants are known as repositories of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Adding biochar and inoculating with exogenous microbial agents are common ways to improve the quality of compost. However, little is known about the effects of these exogenous additives on the fate of ARGs during composting and the related mechanisms. In this study, municipal sludge was taken as the research object to study the ARG-removal effects of four composting methods: ordinary compost (CT), compost with hyperthermophiles (HT), compost with hyperthermophiles and 2.0% biochar (HT2C) and compost with hyperthermophiles and 5.0% biochar (HT5C). Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were conducted to analyze the ARGs, MGEs and bacterial community. After composting, the abundance of ARGs in CT was reduced by 72.7%, while HT, HT2C and HT5C were reduced by 80.7%, 84.3% and 84.8%, respectively. Treatments with different proportions of biochar added (HT2C, HT5C) had no significant effect on the abundance of ARGs. Network analysis showed that Firmicutes and Nitrospirae were positively associated with most ARGs and may be potential hosts for them. In addition, redundancy analysis further showed that the class 1 integrase gene (intI1), pH and organic carbon had a greater effect on ARGs. Our findings suggested that the combination of hyperthermophiles and biochar during the composting process was an effective way to control ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), thus inhibiting the spread and diffusion of ARGs in the environment and improving the efficiency of treating human and animal diseases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1753-1763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Heß ◽  
Frauke Lüddeke ◽  
Claudia Gallert

Whereas the hygienic condition of drinking and bathing water by law must be monitored by culture-based methods, for quantification of microbes and antibiotic resistance in soil or the aquatic environment, often molecular genetic assays are used. For comparison of both methods, knowledge of their correlation is necessary. Therefore the population of total bacteria, Escherichia coli, enterococci and staphylococci during sewage treatment and in receiving river water was compared by agar plating and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays. In parallel, all samples were investigated for clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes. Whereas plating and qPCR data for total bacteria correlated well in sewage after primary treatment, qPCR data of river water indicated higher cell numbers for E. coli. It is unknown if these cells are ‘only’ not growing under standard conditions or if they are dead. Corresponding to the amount of non-culturable cells, the ‘breakpoints’ for monitoring water quality should be adapted. The abundances of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes in river water were in the same order of magnitude or even higher than in treated sewage. For estimation of the health risk it is important to investigate which species carry respective genes and whether these genes are disseminated via gene transfer.


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