Bacterial perspectives on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in domestic wastewater bio-treatment systems: beneficiary to victim

Distribution and co-occurrence patterns of antibiotic resistance genes in black soils in Northeast China

Black soils (Mollisols) are among the most important soil resources for crop production and food security. In China, they are mainly distributed in the northeastern region. To investigate soil antibiotic resistance distribution patterns and monitor soil quality, we randomly chose nine corn fields in Northeast China and analyzed the antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) distribution and co-occurrence patterns on the basis of high-throughput approaches and network analyses. High genetic diversity (136 unique genes) and low ARG abundances (10^-5-10^-2 copies/16S rRNA gene copy) were detected, with relatively few interactions among ARGs. Type I integron genes were prevalent in the soil and were positively correlated with ARGs, which may increase the risk of ARG transmission. Most ARGs were strongly associated with microorganisms. Moreover, several ARGs were significantly correlated with antibiotics, nutrients, and metal elements. The generation and dissemination of ARGs, which were most likely mediated by mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacteria, were affected by environmental conditions. These results provide insights into the widespread co-occurrence patterns in soil resistomes.

Predicting antibiotic resistance gene abundance in activated sludge using shotgun metagenomics and machine learning

While the microbiome of activated sludge (AS) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) plays a vital role in shaping the resistome, identifying the potential bacterial hosts of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in WWTPs remains challenging. The objective of this study is to explore the feasibility of using a machine learning approach, random forests (RF's), to identify the strength of associations between ARGs and bacterial taxa in metagenomic datasets from the activated sludge of WWTPs. Our results show that the abundance of select ARGs can be predicted by RF's using abundant genera (Candidatus Accumulibacter, Dechloromonas, Pesudomonas, and Thauera, etc.), (opportunistic) pathogens and indicators (Bacteroides, Clostridium, and Streptococcus, etc.), and nitrifiers (Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira, etc.) as explanatory variables. The correlations between predicted and observed abundance of ARGs (erm(B), tet(O), tet(Q), etc.) ranged from medium (0.400 < R² < 0.600) to strong (R² > 0.600) when validated on testing datasets. Compared to those belonging to the other two groups, individual genera in the group of (opportunistic) pathogens and indicator bacteria had more positive functional relationships with select ARGs, suggesting genera in this group (e.g., Bacteroides, Clostridium, and Streptococcus) may be hosts of select ARGs. Furthermore, RF's with (opportunistic) pathogens and indicators as explanatory variables were used to predict the abundance of select ARGs in a full-scale WWTP successfully. Machine learning approaches such as RF's can potentially identify bacterial hosts of ARGs and reveal possible functional relationships between the ARGs and microbial community in the AS of WWTPs.

Associations between human bacterial pathogens and ARGs are magnified in leachates as landfill ages

Landfills constitute the largest treatment and disposal reservoirs of anthropogenic waste on earth and they are continuously releasing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to the environment for decades via leachates. Little is known about the association between ARGs and human bacterial pathogens as a function of time. Here, we quantified 10 subtypes of ARGs, integrons, and human bacterial pathogens (HBPs). Except for the ARGs encoding resistance to sulfonamides, the subtypes encoding resistance to beta-lactams, macrolides, and aminoglycosides were not related to integrons (Spearman, P > 0.05). Over time presence of ARGs became increasingly more correlated with the presence of human bacterial pathogens (Procrustes test; R = 0.81, P < 0.05), which were primarily identified as the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Rather than the prevalence of integrons, dynamics of the bacterial community, including the increased nitrogen metabolism activity of Proteobacteria and decreased bacterial diversity were assumed to lead to a magnified association between HBPs and target ARGs (Varpart; > 13%).

Advanced treatment of sewage by membrane bioreactor associate with genetically engineered autotrophic nitrifying bacteria

This study introduced a process of MBR combing with genetically engineered bacteria of expressing nirs and ppk genes (GEB-Nirs/PPK) for advanced treatment of sewage in scenic area. An industrial scale application was staged anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion. Over more than 150 days of continuous operation, TMP in this system was less than 0.18 bar. With a membrane flux of 6.48 m³/h, TMP remained below 0.2 bar and effluent remained above 70 m³ during continuous operation. Average COD and BOD removals averaged 94.2% and 93.6%, and were obtained with average effluent COD and BOD below 10.4 mg/L and 4.2 mg/L, respectively. The TN and TP removals averaged 98.8% and 94.3%, and never higher than 3.2 mg/L and 0.2 mg/L, respectively, in the processing system. In conclusion, these results indicate that the process of MBR associate with genetically engineered autotrophic nitrifying bacteria is of high-efficiency for advanced treatment of sewage.

Urban and agriculturally influenced water contribute differently to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in a mega-city river network

The widespread of water borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represents a growing threat to the health of millions of people. Our study detected the relative abundances of 10 ARG subtypes in the Shanghai river network, where the major ARG components were strB, sul1, and ermB. These ARGs were significantly enriched by the combined sewage, tail water from urban wastewater treatment plant and runoff from agricultural areas, which reached the Suzhou (SZ), Dianpu (DP), and Huangpu (HP) River, respectively (one-way ANOVA, P < 0.01). The target ARGs were distributed in varying patterns across different rivers. bla_CTX-M and bla_TEM contributed to the increase of total ARGs in the rivers influenced by urban sources, particularly in the SZ River, whose distribution of ARGs was significantly related to that of the confluence of the whole river network (Mantel test, P < 0.01). The bacterial community was closely structured with ARGs and potential pathogenic bacteria's association with target ARGs became significant in downstream samples (Procrustes test, P = 0.03). Water near urban wastewater fallouts was observed to have the highest content of intl1 in the DP River, whose downstream samples' intl -ARG relationship fitted the same regression model as that of the network confluence (R = 0.84, P < 0.001). The amelioration of river water quality does not reduce ARGs, but may affect their distributional patterns in the river network in Shanghai.

Genomic Characterization of Arcobacter butzleri Isolated From Shellfish: Novel Insight Into Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Determinants

Arcobacter (A.) butzleri is an emerging pathogenic microorganism, whose taxonomy has been recently suggested to be emended to the Aliarcobacter (Al.) butzleri comb. nov. Despite extensive taxonomic analysis, only few fragmented studies have investigated the occurrence and the prevalence of virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants of this species in strains isolated from shellfish. Herein we report for the first time the whole genome sequencing and genomic characterization of two A. butzleri strains isolated from shellfish, with particular reference to the antibiotic, heavy metals and virulence determinants. This study supported the taxonomic assignment of these strains to the Al. butzleri species, and allowed us to identify antibiotic and metal resistance along with virulence determinants, also additional to those previously reported for the only two A. butzleri strains from different environments genomically characterized. Moreover, both strains showed resistance to β-lactams, vanocomycin, tetracycline and erythromycin and susceptibility to aminoglycosides and ciprofloxacin. Beside enlarging the availability of genomic data to perform comparative studies aimed at correlating phenotypic differences associated with ecological niche and geographic distribution with the genetic diversity of A. butzleri spp., this study reports the endowment of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance and virulence determinants of these shellfish-isolated strains. This leads to hypothesize a relatively high virulence of A. butzleri isolated from shellfish and prompt the need for a wider genomic analysis and for in vitro and in vivo studies of more strains isolated from this and other ecological niches, to unravel the mechanism of pathogenicity of this species, and the potential risk associated to their consumption.

Neighbor urban wastewater treatment plants display distinct profiles of bacterial community and antibiotic resistance genes

Urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) are among the major recipients of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and antibiotic residues in urban environments. Although during treatment, bacteria of human and animal origin are removed, some are able to survive, persisting in the final effluent. The occurrence of these bacteria, especially those harboring ARGs, may have a direct impact on the quality of the treated wastewater that is returned to the environment. In this study, we aimed to assess if the final effluent bacterial communities of three UWTPs (PT1, PT2, and PT3) located next to each other were distinct and if such differences were related with the antibiotic resistance profiles.It was observed that the bacterial community (16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing) and load of selected ARGs of final effluent differed among the three UWTPs, irrespective of sampling time. Members of the families Aeromonadaceae, Campylobacteraceae, Veillonellaceae, [Weeksellaceae], and Porphyromonadaceae were observed to be positively correlated with some ARGs (bla_CTX-M, bla_OXA-A, bla_SHV) and intI1 (p < 0.05), while Intrasporangiaceae were observed to be negatively correlated. While Aeromonadaceae are recognized relevant ARG harbors, the other bacterial families may represent bacteria that co-exist with the ARG hosts, which may belong to minor bacterial groups omitted in the analyses. These findings suggest the importance of bacterial dynamics during treatment to the ARB&ARGs removal, a rationale that may contribute to design new strategies to apply in the UWTPs to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance.