Revealing the response characteristics of periphyton biomass and community structure to sulfamethoxazole exposure in aquaculture water: The perspective of microbial network relationships

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 344; p. 123301
• Main Authors: Peng, Xue, Zhang, Xinyi, Zhang, Shuxian, Li, Zhuxi, Zhang, Haokun, Zhang, Lu, Wu, Zhenbin, Liu, Biyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2024
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - toxicity; Antibiotic resistance genes; Aquaculture; Aquaculture water; Biomass; Co-occurrence network; Microbiota; Periphyton; Sulfamethoxazole; Sulfamethoxazole - toxicity; Water; Aquaculture water; Sulfamethoxazole; Antibiotic resistance genes; Periphyton; Co-occurrence network
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123301

The widespread application of sulfonamide antibiotics in aquaculture has raised concerns about their adverse environmental impacts. Periphyton plays a crucial role in the aquatic ecosystem. In this study, we examined sulfamethoxazole (SMX) effects on the community structure and interactions of periphyton in simulated aquaculture water. Our findings indicated that the total biomass of periphyton decreased, while the biomass of periphytic algae and the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) increased at 0.7 × 10−3 mg/L. Under higher SMX concentrations (5 mg/L and 10 mg/L), periphyton growth was severely inhibited, the microbial community structure of periphyton were sharply altered, characterized by the cyanobacteria growth suppression and decrease in the diversity index of community. Furthermore, elevated SMX concentrations (5 mg/L and 10 mg/L) increased the ratio of negative relationships from 45.4% to 49.4%, which suggested that high SMX concentrations promoted potential competition among microbes and disrupted the microbial food webs in periphyton. The absolute abundance of sul1 and sul2 genes in T2 and T3 groups were 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than those in control group after 30 days of SMX exposure, which elevated the risk of resistance gene enrichment and dissemination in the natural environment. The study contributes to our understanding of the detrimental effects of antibiotic pollution, which can induce changes in the structure and interaction relationship of microbial communities in aquaculture water. [Display omitted] •Low SMX concentrations stimulated algae growth within periphyton.•10 mg/L SMX reduced α-diversity and abundance of Leptolyngbyaceae and Philodina.•High SMX concentrations increased the complexity of microbial food webs.•SMX increased the abundance of ARGs, especially at sul1 and sul2 genes.