Investigation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Communities and Antibiotic-Resistant Genes in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Removal of Antibiotic-Resistant Genes by the BBR Process

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 108; no. 2; pp. 284 - 291
• Main Authors: Weng, Zi-fan, He, Yu-qin, Li, Guo-xiang, Wu, Xiao-tong, Dai, Yi, Bao, Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Aquatic Pollution; Bacillus subtilis; Bacteria; Bacteria - genetics; bacterial communities; Biological treatment; Bioreactors; Community structure; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Microbial - genetics; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Genes; Genes, Bacterial; Inlets; Next-generation sequencing; Outlets; Pollution; Sewage; Sewage disposal; Soil Science & Conservation; toxicology; Waste Water - analysis; Waste Water Technology; wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water analysis; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water Purification; Water sampling; Water treatment; Antibiotic-resistant genes; spp; Antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Wastewater treatment plants; Baffled bioreactor; Bacillus spp
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-021-03363-9

The antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) in Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have attracted increasing attention. In this study, the abundance of ARB and resistance genes tet32 and defA1 were investigated using high-throughput sequencing and high-throughput qPCR in water samples collected from the inlet of the biological treatment pool and outlet of Beilun Yandong WWTP in Ningbo, China. The result shows there was a high level of ARGs in the water of both the inlets and outlets in 2017 and 2018, whereas no ARGs were detected after adding a new baffled bioreactor (BBR) water treatment process in 2019. The BBR process uses Bacillus subtilis , B. thuringiensis , B. megaterium , B. licheniformis and B. amyloliquefaciens to effectively eliminate the ARGs in wastewater. Notably, this process did not significantly change the bacterial community structure of outlet water samples. The findings demonstrate an effective new method for removing ARGs from sewage.