WATER RESEARCH
·
2018
·
IF 7.051
Weifu Yan,Yunyan Guo,Yong Xiao,Shuhua Wang,Rui Ding,Jiaqi Jiang,Haiyin Gang,Han Wang,Jun Yang,Feng Zhao
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is regarded as a promising alternative for enhancing the removal of antibiotic pollutants. In this study, oxytetracycline served as an electron donor in the anode chamber of MFCs, and after continuous operation for 330 days, the efficiency of removal of 10 mg/L oxytetracycline in MFCs increased to 99.00% in 78 h, whereas removal efficiency of only 58.26% was achieved in microbial controls. Compared to microbial controls, higher ATP concentration and persistent electrical stimulation mainly contributed to bioelectrochemical reactions more rapidly to enhance oxytetracycline removal in MFCs. In addition, the analysis of bacterial communities revealed that Eubacterium spp.—as the main functional bacterial genus responsible for oxytetracycline biodegradation—flourished starting from merely 0.00%–91.69% ± 0.27% (mean ± SD) in MFCs. High-throughput quantitative PCR showed that the normalized copy numbers of total antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements in MFCs were 1.7364 and 0.0065 copies/cell respectively, which were markedly lower than those in the microbial controls. Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between oxytetracycline concentration in the influent and abundance of ARGs in effluent from MFCs. Nevertheless, Tp614 , a transposase gene, was found to be enriched in both MFCs and microbial reactors, suggesting that it may be a common challenge for different biological processes for wastewater treatment . This study therefore showed a lower probability of upregulation and transmission of ARGs in MFCs when compared to a traditional anaerobic microbial treatment .
研究领域:
环境工程
·
微生物学
·
生物技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
PEDOSPHERE
·
2023
·
IF 5.7
Huixiang WANG,Xiaoshuai SHEN,Chen ZHANG,Yi SHAO,Hua LI,Jian WU,Yuli YANG,Hailiang SONG
Soil microbial fuel cells (MFCs), a novel ecosystem technology, have recently been intensively studied for antibiotic-polluted soils. However, actual agricultural soils are always contaminated by mixed pollutants, especially plasticizers from extensively used agricultural plastic films. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP, a representative plasticizer in soil) on the removal of sulfadiazine (SDZ, a frequently detected antibiotic in natural environments), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and the microbial community in soil MFCs. Our results confirmed that soil MFCs maintained a good antibiotic removal ability even under the influence of residual DEHP and achieved a higher removal performance at higher DEHP concentrations due to enhanced power generation. Specifically, a higher DEHP concentration had a favorable effect on antibiotic removal in soil MFCs because the biodegradation efficiency was improved in both the upper ( i.e., to 0.268 ± 0.021 mg kg −1 from 4.867 ± 0.221 mg kg −1 ) and lower layers ( i.e. , to 0.293 ± 0.047 mg kg −1 from 4.867 ± 0.221 mg kg −1 ) of polluted soils. Moreover, a high DEHP concentration significantly promoted the abundance of bacteria associated with electricity generation compared with a lower DEHP concentration, resulting in the promotion of extracellular electron transfer, and enhancing SDZ degradation. The increased ARG abundance may have been caused by the enrichment of ARG potential hosts brought about by high DEHP concentrations, likely due to the increased conjugative transfer rates of the RP4 plasmid due to decreased membrane permeability and an increased reactive oxygen species content. The results revealed the ecological risk of residual DEHP in soil that promotes ARG transmission in soil MFCs, although it has the potential to reduce SDZ toxicity through horizontal gene transfer. We also highlight concerns regarding the management of antibiotics and plasticizers in soil. The negative effects of plasticizers on antibiotic removal should be carefully evaluated when using soil MFCs for the in situ remediation of antibiotic-contaminated soil.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
·
生态毒理学
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土壤学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
WATER RESEARCH
·
2020
·
IF 9.13
Kaifeng Yu,Peng Li,Yiliang He,Bo Zhang,Yihan Chen,Jinghan Yang
Serious concerns have been raised regarding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) with respect to their potential threat to human health. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been considered to be hotspots for ARGs. In this study, high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HT-qPCR) was used to profile size-dependent ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) divided by particle-associated (PA) assemblages (>3.0-μm), free-living (FL) bacteria (0.2 - 3.0-μm) and cell-free (CF) DNA (< 0.2-μm) in two full-scale WWTPs (plants A and B) and a receiving stream. The results revealed that FL-ARGs were predominant in WWTPs and the receiving stream, especially in the final effluent of both plants. More than 40 types of CF-ARGs and CF-MGEs were detected with absolute abundances ranging from 6.0 ± 0.7 × 10 5 to 1.0 ± 0.2 × 10 8 copies/mL in wastewater, and relatively high abundances were also detected in the final effluent of the two plants, suggesting that CF-ARGs were important sources spreading from the WWTPs to the receiving environment. Plant A exhibited higher log-removal of size-fractionated ARGs and MGEs than was observed for plant B, which was attributed to the enhanced settleability of PA assemblages and FL bacteria by additional macrophytes and chemical coagulants. Ultraviolet disinfection had limited effects on ARGs and MGEs of the PA and FL fractions, which was probably ascribed to the protective matrices of the particles and cell walls. The bacterial communities of the two plants were significantly different among the size fractions ( p < 0.01). The variation partitioning analysis (VPA) indicated that the microbial community structures and MGEs contributed a variation of 68.2% in total to the relative abundance changes of size-fractionated ARGs. Procrustes analyses and Mantel tests showed that the relative abundances of ARGs were significantly correlated with bacterial community structures. These results suggested that the bacterial community structures and MGEs might have been the main drivers of the size-fractionated ARG disseminations. This study provides novel insights into size-fractionated ARGs and MGEs in full-scale WWTPs and may lead to the identification of key targets to control the spread of ARGs.
研究领域:
环境微生物学
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水处理工程
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分子生态学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
WATER RESEARCH
·
2022
·
IF 13.4
Ruilong Li,Longji Zhu,Yijin Wang,Yong-Guan Zhu
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging as anthropogenic vectors for the colonization and transportation of microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems. However, the composition of the microbiome and its environmental risk on field MPs at watershed scale has rarely been explored. Here, geographical distributions of microbiome, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors (VFs) on field MPs at watershed scale were characterized and their potential environmental risks were evaluated based on the data from metagenomic analyzes. The succession of microbial communities on MPs was observed along the watershed, and some ARGs and VFs were significantly enriched on MPs in urban region in comparison with rural region. Potential environmental risk of MPs conducted by Projection Pursuit Regression model in midstream (peri-urban region) and downstream (urban region) were significantly higher than that in upstream (rural region), and exhibit close relationships with MPs concentration and water velocity. Furthermore, our source tracking results demonstrated that the microbiome, ARGs and VFs in urban region MPs were largely derived from rural region MPs. Our results caution us that special attention should be paid to the risks posed by MPs in urban water bodies, and highlight the threat of MPs from rural upstream areas.
研究领域:
环境科学
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微生物学
·
生态学
·
基因组学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY
·
2023
·
IF 4.5
Yan Wang,Kepin Ni,Zhenyan Zhang,Nuohan Xu,Chaotang Lei,Bingfeng Chen,Qi Zhang,Liwei Sun,Yiling Chen,Tao Lu,Haifeng Qian
The emergence and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors (VFs) pose health risks to the ecosystem and humans. Understanding how non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents drive the expression of ARGs and VFs in freshwater ecosystems, however, remains large challenges. Here, we employed freshwater microcosms and performed metatranscriptomic analysis to investigate the expression profiles of ARGs and VFs in response to pollutants of non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and azoxystrobin. Results showed that AgNPs significantly inhibited the total expression of ARGs and VFs and decreased the number of pathogenic microorganisms expressing these genes. Azoxystrobin increased the total expression of ARGs and VFs, as well as the number of pathogens expressing VFs, but concomitantly reduced the number of pathogens expressing ARGs. Two tested pollutants dramatically changed the expression profiles of ARGs and VFs, with distinct patterns: AgNPs displayed a negative effect, while azoxystrobin showed a positive effect on their expression profiles. Our findings provided a systematical insight to demonstrate that non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents with different mechanisms of action showed various effects on ARGs and VFs, and therefore represented different ecological risks.
研究领域:
环境微生物学
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分子生态学
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毒理学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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2022
·
IF 14.224
Hongrui Zhou,Xiaobo Yang,Yutong Yang,Yuanyuan Niu,Jing Li,Xinyue Fu,Shang Wang,Bin Xue,Chenyu Li,Chen Zhao,Xi Zhang,Zhiqiang Shen,Jingfeng Wang,Zhigang Qiu
The rapid spread of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in Enterococcus faecalis ( E. faecalis ) poses a great challenge to human health and ecological and environmental safety. Therefore, it is important to control the spread of ARGs. In this study, we observed that the addition of 5 μg/mL docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) reduced the conjugative transfer of pCF10 plasmid by more than 95% in E. faecalis . DHA disturbed the pheromone transport by inhibiting the mRNA levels of the prgZ gene, causing the iCF10 pheromone to accumulate in the donor bacteria and bond to the PrgX receptor to form an inhibitory phase, which resulted in the down-regulation of the expression of genes related to conjugative transfer, inhibiting biofilm formation, reducing bacterial adhesion and thus inhibiting conjugative transfer. Collectively, DHA exhibited an admirable inhibitory effect on the transfer of ARGs in E. faecalis . This study provided a technical option to control the transfer of ARGs.
研究领域:
微生物学
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分子生物学
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抗菌素耐药性
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环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH
·
2023
·
IF 4.9
Xue-Yang Wang,Huang-Wei Song,Tian Yi,Ying-Bo Shen,Chong-Shan Dai,Cheng-Tao Sun,De-Jun Liu,Jian-Zhong Shen,Cong-Ming Wu,Yang Wang
Conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by plasmids is an important route for ARG dissemination. An increasing number of antibiotic and nonantibiotic compounds have been reported to aid the spread of ARGs, highlighting potential challenges for controlling this type of horizontal transfer. Development of conjugation inhibitors that block or delay the transfer of ARG-bearing plasmids is a promising strategy to control the propagation of antibiotic resistance. Although such inhibitors are rare, they typically exhibit relatively high toxicity and low efficacy in vivo and their mechanisms of action are inadequately understood. Here, we studied the effects of dihydroartemisinin (DHA), an artemisinin derivative used to treat malaria, on conjugation. DHA inhibited the conjugation of the IncI2 and IncX4 plasmids carrying the mobile colistin resistance gene ( mcr-1 ) by more than 160-fold in vitro in Escherichia coli , and more than two-fold (IncI2 plasmid) in vivo in a mouse model. It also suppressed the transfer of the IncX3 plasmid carrying the carbapenem resistance gene bla NDM-5 by more than two-fold in vitro . Detection of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and proton motive force (PMF), in combination with transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, revealed that DHA impaired the function of the electron transport chain (ETC) by inhibiting the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle pathway, thereby disrupting PMF and limiting the availability of intracellular ATP for plasmid conjugative transfer. Furthermore, expression levels of genes related to conjugation and pilus generation were significantly down-regulated during DHA exposure, indicating that the transfer apparatus for conjugation may be inhibited. Our findings provide new insights into the control of antibiotic resistance and the potential use of DHA.
研究领域:
微生物学
·
分子生物学
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药理学
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传染病学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
WATER RESEARCH
·
2025
·
IF 12.4
Xiaoming Zou,Baoyin Zhang,Yujiao Jing,Lihui Zong,Ligui Wu,Qunyan Zhou,Yue Fang,Kaifang Shen,Xubiao Luo,Lingling Rong
The pivotal role of plasmid-mediated conjugative transfer in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is well established, and environmental chemicals exert considerable selective pressure on this process. Oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) are frequently detected in aquatic environments at concentrations reaching the mg/L range. However, their influence on the conjugative transfer of plasmid remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the effects of eight widely used OADs on the transfer of the RP4 plasmid between Escherichia coli strains isolated from representative wastewater sources. The results showed that all tested OADs significantly enhance plasmid transfer ( P < 0.05), albeit with up to a four - fold variation in change. Notably, this phenomenon is independent of OAD degradation profiles, but strongly associated with bacterial biochemical responses ( P < 0.05) such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, cell membrane permeability, and ATP synthesis. Mechanistic analyses further identify OAD electrophilicity as a key chemical determinant, modulating both physiological processes (membrane permeability and ATP production) and molecular components—genes ( ybbA, mlaA , and ompF ) and their corresponding proteins (YbbA, MlaA, and OmpF)—involved in conjugative transfer. Furthermore, results demonstrate that OADs consistently increase ARG abundance and diversity in activated sludge systems, an effect strongly correlated with their electrophilicity ( P < 0.05). Collectively, our findings reveal, for the first time, that OAD electrophilicity is a critical driver of ARG dissemination in wastewater treatment systems, thereby providing molecular-level insights and a theoretical foundation for controlling ARG spread.
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
·
2021
·
IF 9.028
Tingting Zhang,Xuan Zhu,Jianhua Guo,April Z. Gu,Dan Li,Jianmin Chen
Nano-ZnO, as a commonly used nanomaterial, has been found in drinking water, food, and medicine; therefore, it poses potential health risks via the digestion system. However, little is known about the toxicity of nano-ZnO on the human intestinal microbiome, which plays critical roles in human health. This study comprehensively investigated the impact of nano-ZnO on the human gut microbiome, metabolic functions, and resistome using an in vitro colon simulator. Nano-ZnO induced concentration-dependent decreases in the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Metagenomic analysis revealed that nano-ZnO not only led to dose-dependent shifts in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota but also changed the key functional pathways of the gut microbiome. Although the diversity of the gut microbiota basically recovered after stopping exposure to nano-ZnO, SCFAs still showed a concentration-dependent decrease. Furthermore, although a medium concentration of nano-ZnO (2.5 mg/L) reduced the abundance of many antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by inhibiting the growth of related host bacteria, a low concentration of nano-ZnO (0.1 mg/L) greatly enriched the abundance of tetracycline resistance genes. Our findings provide evidence that nano-ZnO can impact the diversity, metabolism, and functional pathways of the human gut microbiome, as well as the gut resistome, highlighting the potential health effects of nanoparticles.
研究领域:
毒理学
·
微生物学
·
环境科学
·
宏基因组学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
·
2020
·
IF 6.785
Shaoyu Lu,Jingjing Du,Zhenli Sun,Chuanyong Jing
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have become emerging environmental contaminants, and the effective on-site detection of ARGs is urgently needed. Herein, we constructed a hairpin-structured magnetic sensor for the analysis of a widespread ARG, tetA, using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The SERS sensor was assembled by immobilizing core-satellite structured Fe3O4@SiO2-Au with single-stranded DNA in a folded hairpin structure. The SERS sensor exhibited good sensitivity and specificity for the detection of laboratory-synthesized tetA ssDNA fragments. In addition, this SERS strategy is the first of its kind to be employed for monitoring environmental samples in the field, with a limit of detection reaching as low as 25 copies μL–1. Univariate and multivariate linear regression equations verify the practicability of the SERS sensor for quantitative tetA determination, showing the prospect for an amplification-free alternative platform for sensitive and reliable on-site detection of ARGs in the environment.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
分析化学
·
分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
·
2021
·
IF 10.588
Libing Chu,Jianlong Wang,Shijun He,Chuanhong Chen,László Wojnárovits,Erzsébet Takács
In present study, the treatment of real pharmaceutical wastewater from an erythromycin (ERY) production factory by gamma irradiation was investigated. Results showed that a variety of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), involving MLSB, tet , bla , multidrug, sul , MGEs and van genes and plentiful 9 bacterial phyla were identified in the raw wastewater. In addition to ERY, sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and tetracycline (TC) were also identified with the concentration of 3 order of magnitude lower than ERY. Results showed that the abatement of ARGs and antibiotics was much higher than that of antimicrobial activity and COD. With the absorbed dose of 50 kGy, the removal percentage of ARGs, ERY, antimicrobial activity and COD was 96.5–99.8%, 90.0%, 47.8% and 10.3%, respectively. The culturable bacteria were abated fast and completely at 5.0 kGy during gamma irradiation. The genus Pseudomonas was predominant in raw wastewater (56.7%) and its relative abundance decreased after gamma irradiation, to 1.3% at 50 kGy. With addition of peroxymonosulfate (PMS, 50 mM), the antimicrobial activity disappeared completely and ERY removal reached as high as 99.2% at the lower absorbed dose of 25 kGy. Ionizing radiation-coupled technique is a potential option to treat pharmaceutical wastewater for reduction of antibiotics, ARGs and antimicrobial activity.
研究领域:
环境工程
·
废水处理
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辐射化学
·
微生物学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
·
2025
·
IF 7.7
Huan-Qin Li,Wen-Lei Wang,Ying-Jia Shen,Jian-Qiang Su
Microplastics (MPs) are critical vectors for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs); however, the prevalence and ecological risks of high-risk ARGs in mangrove ecosystems—globally vital yet understudied coastal habitats—remain poorly understood. To address this gap, this study investigated polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride incubated in mangrove sediments for one month, focusing on high-risk ARGs, virulence gene (VGs), and pathogenic antibiotic-resistant bacteria within the mangrove plastisphere. High-throughput PCR and metagenomic analyses revealed that high-risk ARGs, VGs, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were significantly enriched on MPs compared to surrounding sediments. Pathogenic bacteria and MGEs were also more abundant in the plastisphere, highlighting its role as a hotspot for ARG dispersal. Metagenome-assembled genome analysis identified Pseudomonas and Bacillus as key hosts for ARGs, MGEs, and VGs, particularly multidrug resistance genes, integrase genes, and adherence factors. Notably, polystyrene harbored the highest abundance of pathogenic bacteria carrying ARGs, MGEs, and VGs, and mangrove root exudates were found to amplify horizontal gene transfer on MPs, uncovering a previously overlooked mechanism driving antibiotic resistance in coastal ecosystems. These findings not only elucidate how MPs accelerate the spread of ARGs, but also underscore the urgent need for targeted mitigation strategies to address the adverse impacts microplastic pollution on human, animal, and environmental health.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
微生物学
·
生态学
·
基因组学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）