Title |
Exploring the antibiotic resistome in activated sludge and anaerobic digestion sludge in an urban wastewater treatment plant via metagenomic analysis |
Author |
Keunje Yoo1, Hyunji Yoo2, Jangho Lee2, Eun Joo Choi3, and Joonhong Park2* |
Address |
1Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan 49112, Republic of Korea, 2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea, 3Department of Systems Biology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea |
Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 58(2),123-130, 2020,
|
DOI |
10.1007/s12275-020-9309-y
|
Key Words |
antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), Mobile genetic
elements, urban wastewater treatment plant, metagenomics |
Abstract |
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging contaminants
that pose a potential threat to human health worldwide.
Urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a main
source of both antibiotic-resistant bacteria and ARGs released
into the environment. Nevertheless, the propagation of ARGs
and their underlying mechanisms and the dynamics of mobile
genetic elements (MGEs) in WWTPs have rarely been
investigated in South Korea. In this study, shotgun metagenomic
analysis was used to identify comprehensive ARGs and
their mechanisms, bacterial communities, and MGEs from
4 configurations with 2 activated sludge (AS) and 2 anaerobic
digestion sludge (ADS) samples. A total of 181 ARG subtypes
belonging to 22 ARG types were broadly detected, and the
ARG abundances in the AS samples were 1.3–2.0 orders of
magnitude higher than in the ADS samples. Multidrug and
bacitracin resistance genes were the predominant ARG types
in AS samples, followed by ARGs against sulfonamide, tetracycline,
and β-lactam. However, the composition of ARG
types in ADS samples was significantly changed. The abundance
of multidrug and β-lactam resistance genes was drastically
reduced in the ADS samples. The resistance genes of
MLS were the predominant, followed by ARGs against sulfonamide
and tetracycline in the ADS samples. In addition,
plasmids were the dominant MGEs in the AS samples, while
integrons (intI1) were the dominant MGEs in the ADS samples.
These results provide valuable information regarding
the prevalence of ARG types and MGEs and the difference
patterns between the AS and ADS systems. |