Metagenomic insights into the profile of antibiotic resistomes in sediments of aquaculture wastewater treatment system

To meet the rapidly growing global demand for aquaculture products, large amounts of antibiotics were used in aquaculture, which might accelerate the evolution of antibioticresistant bacteria(ARB) and the propagation of antibiotic genes(ARGs). In our research, we revealed the ARGs profiles, their co-occurrence with mobile genetic elements(MGEs), and potential hosts in sediments of a crab pond wastewater purification system based on metagenomic analysis. The residual antibiotic seems to increase ...     

Horizontal and vertical gene transfer drive sediment antibiotic resistome in an urban lagoon system

Rapid urbanization has resulted in pervasive occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in urban aquatic ecosystems. However, limited information is available concerning the ARG profiles and the forces responsible for their assembly in urban landscape lagoon systems. Here, we employed high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR) to characterize the spatial variations of ARGs in surface and core sediments of Yundang Lagoon, China. The results indicated that the average richness and absolute abundance of ARGs were 11 and 53 times higher in the lagoon sediments as compared to pristine reference Tibetan lake sediments, highlighting the role of anthropogenic activities in ARG pollution. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that various anaerobic prokaryotic genera belonging to Alpha-, Deltaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Euryarchaeota, Firmicutes and Synergistetes were the potential hosts of ARGs. The partial least squares-path modeling (PLS-PM) analysis revealed positive and negative indirect effects of physicochemical factors and heavy metals on the lagoon ARG profiles, via biotic factors, respectively. The horizontal (mediated by mobile genetic elements) and vertical (mediated by prokaryotic communities) gene transfer may directly contribute the most to drive the abundance and composition of ARGs, respectively. Furthermore, the neutral community model demonstrated that the assembly of sediment ARG communities was jointly governed by deterministic and stochastic processes. Overall, this study provides novel insights into the diversity and distribution of ARGs in the benthic habitat of urban lagoon systems and underlying mechanisms for the spread and proliferation of ARGs.     

微塑料影响抗性基因的传播与水平基因转移

微塑料作为一种新兴污染物,在多种环境介质（大气、土壤、水体、沉积物）中均有广泛检出.微塑料能够通过表面形成的生物膜结构携带抗性基因,对人体健康造成的潜在风险已经引起了国内外学者的广泛关注.但是,微塑料在抗性基因的长距离传播以及水平转移方面所发挥的功能,以及微塑料传播耐药性所导致的生态与环境效应还尚不明晰.本文重点对不同环境中的微塑料与抗性基因的污染现状进行了综述讨论,对微塑料传播抗性基因的主要方式与过程进行了对比分析,最后概述了微塑料参与调控抗性基因水平转移的机制,并对未来相关研究的重点方向进行了展望,以促进微塑料污染问题的科学解决.     

Impacts of cadmium addition on the alteration of microbial community and transport of antibiotic resistance genes in oxytetracycline contaminated soil

The large-scale development in livestock feed industry has increased the chances of antibiotics and heavy metals contamination in the soil. The fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and microbial community in heavy metals and antibiotic contaminated soil is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of cadmium (Cd) addition on the transport of ARGs, microbial community and human pathogenic bacteria in oxytetracycline (OTC) contaminated soil. Results showed that the addition of OTC significantly increased the abundance of ARGs and intI1 in the soil and lettuce tissues. The addition of Cd to OTC treated soil further increased the abundance and translocation of ARGs and intI1. Moreover, Cd promoted the transfer of potential human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) into lettuce tissues. Compared with O10 treatment, the addition of Cd decreased the concentration of OTC in soil and lettuce tissue, but slightly increased the fresh weight of lettuce tissues. Redundancy analysis indicated that bacterial community succession is a major factor in ARGs variation. Network analysis indicated that the main host bacteria of ARGs were mainly derived from Proteobacteria. Correlation analysis showed that intI1 was significantly correlated with tetG, tetC, sul1, sul2, ermX, and ermQ. Meanwhile, potential HPB (Clostridium, and Burkholderia) was significantly correlated with intI1 and eight ARGs (tetG, tetC, tetW, tetX, sul1, sul2, ermX, and ermQ.). The findings of this study suggest that the addition of heavy metals to agricultural fields must be considered in order to reduce the transfer of ARGs in the soil and crops.     

Profiling the antibiotic resistome in soils between pristine and human-affected sites on the Tibetan Plateau

With increasing pressure from anthropogenic activity in pristine environments, the comprehensive profiling of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs) is essential to evaluate the potential risks from human-induced antibiotic resistance in these under-studied places. Here, we characterized the microbial resistome in relatively pristine soil samples collected from four distinct habitats on the Tibetan Plateau, using a Smart chip based high-throughput q PCR approach. We compared these to soils from the s...     

Temporal variation and sharing of antibiotic resistance genes between water and wild fish gut in a peri-urban river

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) as emergence contaminations have spread widely in the water environment. Wild fish may be recipients and communicators of ARGs in the water environment, however, the distribution and transmission of ARGs in the wild fish and relevant water environment were rarely reported. Here, we have profiled ARGs and bacterial communities in wild freshwater fish and relevant water in a peri-urban river using high-throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequence. A total of 80 and 220 unique ARG subtypes were identified in fish and water samples. Fish and water both showed significant ARG seasonal variations (P < 0.05). The highest absolute abundance of ARGs in fish and water occurred in summer (1.32 × 10⁹ copies per g, on average) and autumn (9.04 × 10⁶ copies per mL), respectively. In addition, the bipartite network analysis showed that 9 ARGs and 1 mobile genetic element continuously shared in fish and water. Furthermore, bacteria shared in fish and water were found to significantly correlate with shard ARGs. The findings demonstrate that bacteria and ARGs in fish and water could interconnect and ARGs might transfer between fish and water using bacteria as a spreading medium.     

基于宏基因组学探讨东平湖水库的菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其公共健康风险

水库中长时间滞留的水体会成为耐药基因的存储库,因此研究其菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其潜在的健康风险具有重要的公共卫生学意义.本研究以东平湖水库的水体和沉积物为研究对象,采用宏基因组测序技术,系统分析其在旱季和雨季中的菌群结构、耐药基因谱、耐药基因水平转移以及携带耐药基因的致病菌类型.结果表明,与水库沉积物相比,水体中的菌群结构和耐药基因谱受季节影响较大,且旱季的总耐药基因丰度明显高于雨季;水库沉积物中总耐药基因丰度高于水体,但水体中耐药基因的水平转移高于沉积物.本研究共检测到20个耐药基因型,377个耐药基因亚型;杆菌素和万古霉素耐药基因分别是水和沉积物中主要的耐药基因型,变形杆菌和放线菌分别是水体和沉积物中主要携带耐药基因的菌群.此外,本研究还鉴定出30株携带耐药基因的致病菌,包括大肠杆菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、铜绿假单胞菌、肠炎沙门氏菌以及鲍曼不动杆菌,其中有2株大肠杆菌携带毒力因子.综上所述,东平湖水库中的耐药基因不仅种类繁多,而且还存在潜在的公共健康风险;因此定期检测水体环境的菌群结构及其耐药基因谱具有重要的科学价值和现实意义.     

尾矿库水体环境抗生素抗性基因的分布特征

抗生素抗性基因是近年来人们普遍关注的新型环境生物污染物,也是科学家们研究的热点.为了探究尾矿库水体环境抗生素抗性基因的污染特征,揭示尾矿库水体环境抗生素抗性基因的影响因素,本文采用超高通量定量PCR技术（HT-qPCR）,研究了某尾矿库的4个点位的水体抗生素抗性基因的多样性、丰度和驱动机制.结果表明,尾矿库水体环境具有种类多样的抗生素抗性基因,库区水体（WK0）、主坝排渗水（WK1）、副坝排渗水（WK2）和河水（HS）分别检测出抗生素抗性基因97、52、44和56种,可移动遗传元件分别检测到11、6、3和6种;在绝对丰度水平上,库区水体（WK0）、主坝排渗水（WK1）、副坝排渗水（WK2）和河水（HS）分别有1.75×10⁸、6.39×10⁷、9.90×10⁷和7.37×10⁷ copies·L^-1,库区水体的抗性基因丰度最高,表明库区是一个潜在的抗性基因存储库;冗余分析（RDA）表明,铜Cu、总有机碳TOC和可移动遗传元件（MGEs）与抗生素抗性基因呈显著正相关的关系,这3个因素对抗生素抗性基因变化的解释量达到了61.64%（前两轴）,因此Cu、TOC和MGEs对尾矿库水体环境抗生素抗性基因的赋存和演变可能具有重要作用.     

环境中抗生素抗性基因丰度与抗生素和重金属含量的相关性分析:基于Web of Science数据库检索

抗生素和重金属是两种重要的环境污染物和耐药性选择压力源,但低含量水平下其对环境微生物种群耐药性水平的影响尚不明确.本文全面检索了截至2020年1月1日发表在Web of Science数据库中同时监测了抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）丰度、抗生素含量或重金属含量的研究文献,提取相关数据,利用统计回归方法调查环境介质中3个参数的相关关系.结果表明,除废水外,地表水、沉积物和土壤等环境介质中,即使在非常低的抗生素含量水平下,抗生素选择压力也会对ARGs丰度的增加产生显著的统计效应（P<0.05）.不同类别抗生素对耐药基因表现出不同程度的选择和富集作用.重金属含量以及抗生素含量和重金属含量的交互作用对ARGs的传播也具有显著影响（P<0.05）.水相和固相环境样本的多变量统计回归模型的最终R²分别为0.482和0.707,比单变量回归的R²更高,能更好地解释ARGs丰度的差异,但环境中还存在其他可能影响ARGs丰度的因素.本文的研究结果可为环境中抗生素耐药性风险评估及传播控制提供支撑.     

Coastal mudflats as reservoirs of extracellular antibiotic resistance genes: Studies in Eastern China

Despite coastal mudflats serving as essential ecological zones interconnecting terrestrial/freshwater and marine systems, little is known about the profiles of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in this area. In this study, characteristics of typical ARGs, involving both intracellular (iARGs) and extracellular ARGs (eARGs) at different physical states, were explored in over 1000 km of coastal mudflats in Eastern China. Results indicated the presence of iARGs and eARGs at states of both freely present or attached by particles. The abundance of eARGs was significantly higher than that of iARGs (87.3% vs 12.7%), and their dominance was more significant than those in other habitats (52.7%-76.3%). ARG abundance, especially for eARGs, showed an increasing trend (p < 0.05) from southern (Nantong) to northern (Lianyungang) coastal mudflats. Higher salinity facilitated the transformation from iARGs to eARGs, and smaller soil particle size was conducive to the persistence of eARGs in northern coastal mudflats. This study addresses the neglected function of coastal mudflats as eARGs reservoirs.     

Comparison of different disinfection processes in the effective removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes

This study compared three different disinfection processes(chlorination, E-beam, and ozone) and the efficacy of three oxidants(H2O2, S2O-8, and peroxymonosulfate(MPS)) in removing antibiotic resistant bacteria(ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs) in a synthetic wastewater. More than30 mg/L of chlorine was needed to remove over 90% of ARB and ARG. For the E-beam method, only1 dose(kGy) was needed to remove ARB and ARG, and ozone could reduce ARB and ARG by more than 90% even at 3 mg/L ozone concentration. In the ozone process, CT values(concentration × time)were compared for ozone alone and combined with different catalysts based on the 2-log removal of ARB and ARG. Ozone treatment yielded a value of 31 and 33(mg·min)/L for ARB and ARGs respectively. On the other hand, ozone with persulfate yielded 15.9 and 18.5(mg·min)/L while ozone with monopersulfate yielded a value of 12 and 14.5(mg·min)/L. This implies that the addition of these catalysts significantly reduces the contact time to achieve a 2-log removal, thus enhancing the process in terms of its kinetics.     

铜尾矿白羊草叶际和根际细菌群落特征

植物叶际、根际微生物及其生存环境共同形成复杂的生态系统,其中,根际微生物也是土壤物质循环的主要动力,可以为植物的生长发育提供基础.叶际和根际微生物也可作为生态学指标,在矿区生态稳定与生态恢复中具有显著作用.本研究选择铜尾矿优势禾草白羊草为研究对象,采用高通量测序的方法,研究白羊草叶际和根际细菌群落特征,探究影响白羊草叶际和根际微生物群落结构与多样性的关键生态因子.结果表明,白羊草叶际和根际细菌群落结构具有显著差异.其中,白羊草叶际细菌优势属包括假单胞菌属、肠杆菌属和鞘脂单胞菌属,根际细菌优势属为Solrubrobacter和酸杆菌属.白羊草根际细菌群落的香农指数、ACE指数和Chao1指数均显著高于叶际细菌.土壤水分含量、pH、土壤砷和锌含量,白羊草总氮和总硫,及叶片和根内的镉和铬是影响白羊草叶际和根际优势细菌属的主要生态因子.此外,根际细菌群落香农指数与根内铜含量显著负相关,辛普森指数与根的总氮含量显著正相关,叶际细菌群落ACE指数与叶片总硫含量显著正相关.本研究结果可为铜尾矿生态恢复中发掘和利用叶际或根际细菌资源及提高矿区生态修复效率提供科学依据.     

铜尾矿白羊草重金属含量对叶际和根际真菌群落的影响

植物的叶际和根际微生物与宿主植物之间存在复杂的相互关系,能促进植物的生长,增强宿主植物对逆境胁迫的耐受性.本实验选择铜矿区主要恢复植被白羊草为研究对象,采用高通量测序的方法,分析白羊草叶际和根际真菌群落结构与多样性差异,探究白羊草叶片和根部富集的重金属含量对叶际和根际真菌群落特征的影响.结果表明,在白羊草的根际和叶际区域,子囊菌门（Ascomycota）和担子菌门（Basidiomycota）均为优势菌门.白羊草根际真菌群落的多样性和丰富度显著高于叶际真菌.白羊草植株叶际和根际真菌多样性受到不同重金属的影响,白羊草叶际多样性主要受到叶片Zn和Cu含量的影响,而根Pb含量是影响根际真菌群落多样性的关键因子.此外,叶际子囊菌门的孢菌科与叶片Cd含量有极显著正相关关系,根际丛赤壳科与根Zn含量显著正相关,可作为重金属污染区域生态恢复的指示菌种.本研究为铜尾矿生态恢复过程中发掘和利用叶际或根际真菌资源提供科学依据,也为筛选重金属污染区生态修复的植物-微生物共生体提供基础.     

不同预处理方式对剩余污泥中活菌菌群及ARGs的影响

剩余污泥作为抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）的储库,对其进行预处理有助于后续厌氧消化（AD）,同时控制ARGs进入AD后的传播风险.本文采用叠氮碘化丙锭（PMA）处理手段,来研究不同预处理方式对活菌菌群及携带ARGs的影响.研究结果显示,热碱、热水解和微波预处理对污泥ARGs去除效果较优,分别为3.32log、3.13log和2.95log;超声波预处理对活菌ARGs仅去除0.58log.在热水解预处理时间延长过程中,菌群大量死亡出现在1~2h间,4h后去除率达2.42log.变形菌门是污泥中最主要的优势菌门,厚壁菌门、绿弯菌门在微波、热水解预处理后实现较大提升.相关性结果显示,sulI与tetC高度相似,且同时与多个科属的微生物成显著正相关,推测其宿主范围较广,且sulI与tetC在预处理中较好的去除率说明其宿主菌对预处理耐受性差;ermB、tetA与占比较高的菌群没有正相关.多数ARGs携带菌对热水解、热碱和微波不耐受,污泥预处理能够降低ARGs丰度,适当延长低温热水解预处理时间,才能有效削减污泥中的ARGs.     

Effective removal of antibiotic resistance genes and potential links with archaeal communities during vacuum-type composting and positive-pressure composting

As a major reservoir of antibiotics, animal manure contributes a lot to the augmented environmental pressure of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This might be the first study to explore the effects of different ventilation types on the control of ARGs and to identify the relationships between archaeal communities and ARGs during the composting of dairy manure. Several ARGs were quantified via Real-time qPCR and microbial communities including bacteria and archaea were analyzed by High-throughput sequencing during vacuum-type composting (VTC) and positive-pressure composting (PPC). The total detected ARGs and class I integrase gene (intI1) under VTC were significantly lower than that under PPC during each stage of the composting (p < 0.001). The relative abundance of potential human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) which were identified based on sequencing information and correlation analysis decreased by 74.6% and 91.4% at the end of PPC and VTC, respectively. The composition of archaeal communities indicated that methane-producing archaea including Methanobrevibacter, Methanocorpusculum and Methanosphaera were dominant throughout the composting. Redundancy analysis suggested that Methanobrevibacter and Methanocorpusculum were positively correlated with all of the detected ARGs. Network analysis determined that the possible hosts of ARGs were different under VTC and PPC, and provided new sights about potential links between archaea and ARGs. Our results showed better performance of VTC in reducing ARGs and potential HPB and demonstrated that some archaea could also be influential hosts of ARGs, and caution the risks of archaea carrying ARGs.     

Herbicide promotes the conjugative transfer of multi-resistance genes by facilitating cellular contact and plasmid transfer

The global dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), especially via plasmid-mediated horizontal transfer, is becoming a pervasive health threat. While our previous study found that herbicides can accelerate the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs in soil bacteria, the underlying mechanisms by which herbicides promote the HGT of ARGs across and within bacterial genera are still unclear. Here, the underlying mechanism associated with herbicide-promoted HGT was analyzed by detecting intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, extracellular polymeric substance composition, cell membrane integrity and proton motive force combined with genome-wide RNA sequencing. Exposure to herbicides induced a series of the above bacterial responses to promote HGT except for the ROS response, including compact cell-to-cell contact by enhancing pilus-encoded gene expression and decreasing cell surface charge, increasing cell membrane permeability, and enhancing the proton motive force, providing additional power for DNA uptake. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of the risk of bacterial resistance spread promoted by herbicides, which elucidates a new perspective on nonantibiotic agrochemical acceleration of the HGT of ARGs.     

鸡粪模拟堆肥中多重耐药菌、耐药基因和整合酶基因的消减动力学解析

为掌握多重耐药菌、耐药基因和整合酶基因在鸡粪堆肥过程中的消减动力学规律,试验外源添加多重耐药菌,并以其携带的磺胺类耐药基因(sul2)、多肽类耐药基因(mcr-1)、喹诺酮类基因(oqxB)和Ⅰ类整合酶基因(intI1)作为典型污染物,开展模拟堆肥试验. 结果表明:可培养的多重耐药大肠杆菌数量在3 d的高温后得到完全灭活;堆肥10 d后,多重耐药菌总量下降了4～6个数量级. 在高温堆肥过程中耐药基因的绝对丰度随着堆肥过程的进行而逐渐降低,耐药基因aadA、sul2、mcr-1、oqxB的消减率分别为89.39%、97.99%、99.89%、99.81%,intI1基因的消减率高于80%;大多数耐药基因的相对丰度表现出先降低后略微升高的趋势. 基于基因绝对丰度的非线性回归分析表明,“独立”耐药基因(oqxB、mcr-1)的消减速率明显高于与Ⅰ类整合酶基因相连的基因(aadA),多重耐药大肠杆菌16S rRNA基因消减速率为0.128 d?1,半消减期为5.41 d. 堆肥对耐药基因绝对丰度的消减速率高于相对丰度. 研究显示,堆肥可以有效消减鸡粪中多重耐药菌,耐药基因消减规律符合一级动力学方程,与Ⅰ类整合酶基因相连耐药基因消减速率慢于“独立”耐药基因,4种耐药基因的半消减期为1.69~5.81 d.      

Investigating the bacterial community and amoebae population in rural domestic wastewater reclamation for irrigation

Reclamation of domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation is viewed as a sustainable option to create an alternative water source and address water scarcity. Free-living amoebae(FLA), which are amphizoic protozoa, are widely distributed in various environmental sources. The FLA could cause considerable environmental and health risks. However, little information is available on the risk of these protozoa. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility using rural domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation, and analyzed dynamic changes of the microbial community structure and FLA populations in raw and treated wastewater, as well as the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of lettuce production sites that were irrigated with different water sources. The bacterial community dynamics were analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism(T-RFLP). The bacterial community structures in the influent were similar to that in the effluent, while in some cases relative abundances varied significantly. The populations of Acanthamoeba spp. and Hartmannella vermiformis in the anaerobically treated wastewater were significantly higher than in the raw wastewater. The vegetables could harbor diverse amoebae, and the abundances of Acanthamoeba spp. and H. vermiformis in the rhizosphere were significantly higher than in the phyllosphere. Accordingly, our studies show insight into the distribution and dissemination of amoebae in wastewater treatment and irrigation practices.     

好氧-厌氧两相堆肥过程中抗生素耐药基因的变化特征及影响因素研究

针对堆肥处理过程中抗生素耐药基因（antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs）去除效率不高、诱导潜在致病菌传播扩散等环境安全问题,采用好氧-厌氧两相堆肥处理猪粪、秸秆,探讨ARGs丰度及微生物群落的变化特征,并明确影响ARGs相对丰度变化的关键因子.结果表明:与单一好氧相比,好氧-厌氧两相堆肥能更有效地降低部分ARGs及潜在致病菌的相对丰度,其中ermB、tetK的相对丰度分别降低了39.68%、72.19%,假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）、梭菌属（Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1）的相对丰度分别降低了96.09%、90.07%.主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis,PCA）及冗余分析（Redundancy analysis,RDA）得出,微生物群落和环境因子均显著影响ARGs相对丰度的变化（P < 0.05）,贡献率分别为82.0%、71.2%.其中,梭菌属（Clostridium_sense_stricto_1）、黄杆菌属（Flavobacterium）、尿素芽孢杆菌属（Ureibacillus）和海洋杆菌属（Oceanobacillus）是影响ARGs相对丰度变化的主要微生物菌属;温度、电导率、含水率和pH是影响ARGs相对丰度变化的关键环境因子,贡献率分别为22.0%、16.7%、16.2%和15.0%.研究显示:与好氧堆肥相比,好氧-厌氧两相堆肥能更有效地去除ARGs,并抑制潜在致病菌的繁殖扩散,从而减少环境风险;然而部分ARGs和潜在致病菌仍存在增殖现象,因此亟需进一步优化好氧-厌氧两相堆肥工艺.      

生活垃圾渗滤液处理过程中抗生素抗性基因的变化特征

抗生素抗性基因被认为是一种环境污染物,城市生活垃圾填埋场及其渗滤液中存在着多种类和高丰度的抗生素抗性基因.针对生活垃圾渗滤液处理工艺流程特点,本研究采用超高通量定量PCR技术,分析生活垃圾渗滤液处理过程中抗生素抗性基因的变化特征.结果表明,渗滤液处理使得出水抗生素抗性基因丰度减至9. 2×1010copies·L-1,降低了5个数量级,能有效消减渗滤液中的抗生素抗性基因,是一种有效消减垃圾渗滤液抗生素抗性基因丰度的方法;渗滤液出水中的抗生素抗性基因140种,检出率高达46. 7%,相较于自然环境,出水中抗生素抗性基因种类和丰度仍然维持在较高水平,直接排入市政污水管网可能造成抗生素抗性基因的二次扩散,存在着较高的生态环境风险;渗滤液中抗生素抗性基因与Cr、Cd、Ni、As、MGEs、integron和transposon呈现极显著的正相关关系,表明抗生素抗性基因的赋存和迁移传播可能受重金属元素和可移动遗传元件的共同影响.