温度对厌氧环境下污泥中抗生素抗性基因行为特征的影响

抗性基因的转移传播使得污水处理厂成为其重要的储存库,对人类健康存在潜在风险。实验采用序批式厌氧反应器,温度设定分别为15℃、中温(30℃和36℃)、高温(50℃和60℃),探究温度对污泥厌氧条件下8种抗生素去除效果的影响,以及四环素类抗性基因(tet A、tet G、tet L、tet M、tet O、tet Q、tet W、tet X)、磺胺类抗性基因(sul I、sul II)和Ⅰ类整合子整合酶基因(int I 1)的行为特征。研究发现温度升高有利于抗生素及抗性基因的去除,15℃、中温和高温下总抗生素的平均去除率分别为45%、59%和78%;15℃、中温和高温下四环素类抗性基因分别削减0.52 log、0.90 log和1.50 log,磺胺类抗性基因分别削减0.56log、0.78 log和1.31 log。相关性分析发现,总抗性基因与总氮、氨氮、SCOD(溶解性COD)均存在显著相关性(R2=0.744、0.760、0.315,P0.05),而与总磷无显著相关性(P0.05)。int I 1与总氮、氨氮、SCOD皆存在显著相关性(R2=0.698、0.795、0.269,P0.05),而与总磷无显著相关性(P0.05)。说明微生物生长环境中的营养元素一定程度上影响着抗性基因的传播和扩散。     

施用畜禽粪便有机肥土壤抗生素抗性基因污染状况

为研究施用畜禽粪便有机肥农田土壤中抗生素抗性基因的分布状况,采集北京地区9个长期施用有机肥蔬菜基地的温室和大田土壤,对土壤中的抗生素耐药菌和18种抗性基因进行检测分析。结果表明,温室土壤中四环素耐药菌占总菌数的比例显著高于大田土壤(P0.05),但温室土壤中氨苄西林、磺胺甲恶唑和环丙沙星耐药菌占总菌数的比例均与大田土壤无显著性差异(P0.05)。大田土壤和温室土壤中磺胺类抗性基因sulⅠ、sul2和四环素类抗性基因tet L的检出率均为100%。其他抗性基因,如四环素抗性基因tet A、tet A/P、tet C,红霉素抗性基因erm B,以及Ⅰ类整合子(intⅠ1),温室土壤的检出率均高于大田土壤,这可能与温室土壤有机肥施用量较大有关。     

黄浦江水域抗生素及抗性基因污染初步研究

采用高效液相色谱-质谱法,调查了黄浦江江水及底泥中6种常见兽用抗生素的含量特征,并采用实时荧光定量PCR方法,分别研究了该水域相应的8种代表性抗生素抗性基因(Antibiotics Resistance Genes,ARGs)的存在及丰度水平。结果显示,调查的四环素类、磺胺类及氯霉素抗生素在江水中的质量浓度范围分别在0.44～2.69、0.97～1.96、0.03～0.26μg·L-1之间,在底泥中的质量分数则分别为22.10～72.74、25.98～117.29、nd～50.47μg·kg-1。所有样品中除tet(O)、tet(B/P)未检出外,其他6种抗性基因均有检出。与四环素类抗性基因相比,磺胺类抗性基因的绝对拷贝数及相对丰度较高,为黄浦江水域中的优势抗性基因。相关性分析表明:江水中sul(Ⅲ)、tet(W),以及底泥中的sul(Ⅱ)丰度与对应相中磺胺类抗生素含量显著正相关,江水中sul(A)则与水相中氯霉素、四环素含量显著相关,其他几种抗生素与抗性基因间未见相关性存在。除抗生素外,黄浦江水域ARGs的相对丰度还可能与抗性基因种类及其环境因素(如光照、温度、pH和重金属等)有关。     

污泥堆肥过程中磺胺类和大环内酯类抗性基因的残留

抗生素抗性基因是一种新型环境污染物,污水处理厂特别是污泥中存在着高丰度的抗生素抗性基因.为研究污泥堆肥过程中抗生素抗性基因的残留,对磺胺类和大环内酯类抗性基因(sulI、sulII、erm(B)和erm(F))以及I类整合子(intI1)的丰度变化进行了定量分析.结果显示,sulΙ、sulΙI、erm(B)和erm(F)的相对丰度在中温阶段降低(PsulII0.05,Perm(B)0.05,Perm(F)0.05),且sulΙ的相对丰度在高温阶段达到最小值(PsulI0.05),sulΙ、sulΙI和erm(F)的相对丰度在冷却和腐熟阶段增加(PsulI0.05,PsulII0.05,Perm(F)0.05).堆肥过程中sulΙ、sulII和erm(B)的丰度与温度呈负相关(P0.05),温度可能是影响磺胺类和大环内酯类抗性基因变化的重要因素.sulΙ和sulII的丰度与intI1的丰度呈正相关(P0.05),表明水平基因转移可能是该类抗性基因传播与扩散的重要途径.研究结果表明,尽管存在于污泥中的抗生素抗性基因的相对丰度在升温阶段呈下降趋势,但在随后的冷却和腐熟阶段却显著反弹.因此,经堆肥处理的污泥直接施用于农田可能造成抗生素抗性基因的二次扩散.     

东江下游典型饮用水源地抗生素抗性基因分布研究

抗生素抗性基因(AntibioticsResistanceGenes,ARGs)是环境中的一类新型污染物。为了解东江下游地区水源地中ARGs的污染水平及其影响因素,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术,对东江下游地区9个河流型饮用水源地和5个湖泊型饮用水源地8种ARGs[sul1、sul2、sul3、tet(M)、tet(O)、tet(Q)、tet(G)、ermB]的绝对丰度进行检测分析。结果表明:东江下游饮用水源地总ARGs绝对丰度水平偏低,ARGs总丰度范围为2.37×10~7-4.80×10~8 copies?L~(-1),其中抗性基因sul1的丰度相对较高,这可能与磺胺类药品是常用药品有关。磺胺类ARGs(sul1、sul2)在所有饮用水源地中均有检出,而sul3的检出率为85.7%;四环素类ARGs[tet(M)、tet(O)、tet(Q)、tet(G)]的检出率较高,为64.3%-100%;大环内酯类ARGs检出率最低。河流型水源地上游点位ARGs绝对丰度为1.03×108 copies?L~(-1),下游点位绝对丰度为2.89×10~8 copies?L~(-1),因此河流型饮用水源地的ARGs绝对丰度水平随着河流方向呈现逐渐升高趋势。除了一处曾为水产养殖的备用湖泊型水源地外,河流型水源地除sul1外的抗性基因丰度(3.25×10~5 copies?L~(-1))明显高于湖泊型饮用水源地(1.14×10~5 copies?L~(-1))。通过对东江下游典型饮用水源地ARGs进行研究,为该地区ARGs污染现状提供了基础数据,也为水环境中ARGs污染整治提供依据。     

抗生素抗性基因在生活及工业混合废水处理系统中的分布和去除

抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)由于其广泛的传播与转移,成为日益严峻的环境问题。污水处理厂(WWTP)被公认为ARGs的主要来源之一。膜生物反应器(MBR)是一种新型污染物去除工艺。在一个具有传统生物处理和膜系统处理的城镇污水处理系统的进水中,检出17种ARGs,并首次检出甲氧苄啶类ARGs。进水中sulΙ基因的绝对丰度最高,随后依次是tet C、sulⅡ、tet W、dfr A1、flo R和dfr A13基因。不同的处理系统去除同一种ARGs效果各不相同,MBR对ARGs去除效果显著优于传统生物处理工艺,同一个处理系统处理不同类ARGs,四环素类ARGs被去除的效果显著优于其他ARGs被去除的效果,绝对丰度下降了3.8个数量级。ARGs没有真正意义上的去除,只是从水体转移到污泥中,污泥中的ARGs不断积累。     

养殖场废水中磺胺类和四环素抗生素及其抗性基因的定量检测

抗生素滥用及其诱导产生的抗生素抗性基因（antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs）污染已经引起人们的广泛关注。选取上海市某地养殖场作为研究对象,采用高效液相色谱-质谱法和实时荧光定量PCR法,对养殖场污水及附近农田灌溉渠河水中5种四环素及磺胺类抗生素,8种对应的ARGs的含量、特征及相关性进行了研究。研究结果显示,在采集的水样中均含有待检测的5种抗生素,养殖污水中抗生素含量高于农田灌溉河水,各样本中四环素类抗生素含量均略高于磺胺类抗生素,2种四环素抗生素总量为294.0~376.1μg﹒L-1,3种磺胺类抗生素总量为197.7~323.0μg﹒L-1。养殖场污水样本中8种ARGs均有检出,磺胺类抗性基因中sul（A）含量最高,绝对拷贝数为108.4108~1010.3728;四环素类抗性基因中tet（W）含量最高,绝对拷贝数为106.18805~107.8874。农田灌溉渠河水中除tet B（P）外,其它7种ARGs均有检出。样本中ARGs相对表达量总体呈现磺胺类ARGs高于四环素类ARGs的特点。抗生素浓度与ARGs相对表达量的Pearson相关性分析显示,样本中sul（Ⅲ）与磺胺类抗生素浓度存在较明显的正相关性,但其它几种ARGs与抗生素则未见或存在一定负相关性。表明除抗生素外,ARGs在水环境中的丰度可能与ARGs种类及其它环境因子有关。该研究将有助于认识上海地区养殖场废水中抗生素和ARGs污染状况,为进一步开展黄浦江水域抗生素尤其是ARGs的污染研究提供数据基础。     

污水处理厂空气介质抗生素抗性基因的分布

考察了污水处理厂空气介质中典型的抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)污染水平和浓度分布,并通过16S r RNA高通量技术对样品进行亲缘性及溯源研究。结果表明,在污水厂空气样品中8种抗生素抗性基因的检出率均超过50%,其中tet C、sul1、sul2和erm B检出率为100%。在曝气池和污泥脱水车间空气样品中8种抗性基因检出率均为100%。对其中的sul1、sul2、tet G和tet X共4种ARGs的定量分析结果表明,以上4种基因的相对浓度范围在102~105copies·ng~(-1)DNA之间,与邻近居民区空气样品抗性基因浓度处于同一水平;空气样品16S r RNA高通量测序聚类分析结果显示,居民区空气与污水厂园区内空气有较高的种群相似度,污水厂处理单元对其邻近区域的空气介质微生物组成影响较大。     

城市垃圾填埋场抗生素抗性基因的污染特征

抗生素抗性基因是一种新型的环境污染物,为探究抗生素抗性基因在垃圾填埋场的污染特征,采集上海老港垃圾填埋场中固体垃圾和渗滤液样品,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术检测磺胺类抗生素抗性基因(sul1、sul2)、四环素类抗性基因(tetM、tetQ)、氨基糖苷类抗性基因(strB、aadA1)、大环内酯类抗生素抗性基因(ermB、mefA)、多重抗性基因(mexF)及I类整合子(intl1)等6类目标基因的丰度.结果显示,6类目标基因均在固体垃圾和渗滤液中检测到,丰度分别介于10~2-10~6、10~3-10~7/ng,且多重抗性基因、氨基糖苷类及磺胺类抗生素抗性基因检出丰度较高.在填埋场固体垃圾中,部分目标基因在1.5 m深处的丰度高于0.5 m深处;在渗滤液中,目标基因丰度和呈现老龄渗滤液大于新鲜渗滤液,部分目标基因在秋季的丰度大于春季.上述结果说明垃圾填埋场是抗生素抗性基因潜在的储存库,目标基因的丰度在垃圾填埋场中存在时空差异.(图8表2参41)     

海南东寨港海水和沉积物中抗生素抗性基因污染特征研究

抗生素滥用及其诱导产生的抗生素抗性基因(Antibioticresistancegenes,ARGs)污染已经引起各界的广泛关注。东寨港是海南省重要的滩涂养殖基地,其ARGs的产生、传播和富集都可能对人类及生态健康产生危害。采集该区域海水和沉积物样本各10个,利用LC-MS/MS对海水和沉积物中磺胺类、四环素类、氯霉素类和喹诺酮类等4类15种抗生素进行测定,同时采用RT-PCR阐明了相应的12种ARGs(sul1、sul2、dfr A1;tet A、tet C、tet G、tet M;cata1、cata2、cmle1、cmle3;qnr S)及16S rRNA的分布特征,并对抗生素和ARGs的相关性进行分析。结果显示,所测ARGs在各沉积物样品中的检出率均为100%,海水样品中ARGs的检出率在80%-100%之间。其中,qnr S的检出率最高,存在于所有海水和沉积物样品中,而sul2的检出丰度最高。比较海水和沉积物中ARGs的相对丰度,发现沉积物中ARGs的污染程度高于海水。样品中抗生素总体检出率较低,其中沉积物仅有喹诺酮及磺胺类抗生素被检出,海水中除磺胺类抗生素外其他均未检出。与其他研究相比,该区域ARGs检出水平较高,而抗生素检出水平较低,ARGs含量与抗生素浓度相关性较弱(P0.05),这说明由历史背景诱导产生的ARGs可进行自我扩增而持续存在于环境中。该研究结果可为当地抗生素的安全使用和ARGs的环境风险评价提供重要依据。     

城市社区农贸市场空气微生物及抗生素抗性基因研究

社区农贸市场活禽交易区是城市重要的人畜交叉感染区域,区内高存量的微生物和抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)可通过粪便、冲洗水、空气等介质传播扩散。而空气介质中通过微生物气溶胶形式的传播途径,因其隐秘性、持久性的特点而对社区居民健康构成严重威胁。本文研究了深圳市某典型社区农贸市场内空气微生物及抗生素抗性基因。结果表明,活禽交易区可培养细菌浓度高达105CFU·m-3,远高于一般室内区域(103CFU·m-3),其中PM2.5精细颗粒物(0.65~3.3μm)中所含菌量占总菌量42%以上;活禽交易区空气介质中,抗生素抗性基因tet G、tet W、sul1和sul2检出率达70%以上,其绝对浓度在10~4~10~9copies·m-3之间;周边环境空气样品中,随着与活禽交易区距离的增加,空气微生物及抗生素抗性基因含量呈显著下降趋势。结果表明,农贸市场活禽交易区是微生物和抗生素抗性基因的一个重要储存库,活禽交易区空气会严重影响农贸市场及其外周边空气质量。     

牛粪发酵过程中抗生素耐药基因及相关菌群组成变化规律

随着规模化奶牛养殖迅速发展,牛粪带来的环境污染问题日益严重。实验探究牛粪及其堆肥过程中养分变化、抗生素耐药基因消减情况以及细菌群落演替规律,探讨细菌菌群与养分、抗生素耐药基因之间的相关性。采集牛粪及其堆肥过程样品,测定样品中养分、检测抗生素耐药基因相对丰度,采用16S r RNA高通量测序技术研究牛粪堆肥过程细菌群落变化。结果表明,从新鲜牛粪(组FM)到发酵牛粪(组C),样品中有机质含量下降,全氮和全磷含量有不同程度增加,全钾(TK)显著升高(P<0.05)。堆肥发酵后,抗生素耐药基因erm B、tet M、bla CTX-M和aac(6')-Ib-cr的相对丰度呈现不同程度的下降,而基因sul1相对丰度增加。高通量测序结果表明,在门水平,各组均以Firmicutes、Proteobacteria和Bacteroidetes这3个菌门为主,在属水平,各组具有不同的优势物种,其中发现Bacteroides、Paeniclostridium和Pseudomonas等7个潜在病原菌属的相对丰度在堆肥后有效降低。通过相关性分析发现,潜在病原菌属与基因tet M和sul1呈显著正相关(P<0.05),此外,大部分优势菌属与养分TK有显著相关性(P<0.05)。研究结果表明,牛粪经堆肥发酵后,病原菌相对丰度有效降低,抗生素耐药基因相对丰度的下降与细菌菌群结构变化存在相关关系。     

Abundance and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in a full-scale anaerobic–aerobic system alternately treating ribostamycin,spiramycin and paromomycin production wastewater

The occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been intensively investigated for wastewater treatment systems treating single class of antibiotic in recent years. However, the impacts of alternately occurring antibiotics in antibiotic production wastewater on the behavior of ARGs in biological treatment systems were not well understood yet. Herein, techniques including high-capacity quantitative PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR) were used to investigate the behavior of ARGs in an anaerobic–aerobic full-scale system. The system alternately treated three kinds of antibiotic production wastewater including ribostamycin, spiramycin and paromomycin, which referred to stages 1, 2 and 3. The aminoglycoside ARGs (52.1–79.3%) determined using high-capacity quantitative PCR were the most abundant species in all sludge samples of the three stages. The total relative abundances of macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin (MLS) resistance genes and aminoglycoside resistance genes measured using qPCR were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in aerobic sludge than in sewage sludge. However, the comparison of ARGs acquired from three alternate stages revealed that MLS genes and the aminoglycoside ARGs did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) in both aerobic and anaerobic sludge samples. In aerobic sludge, one acetyltransferase gene (aacA4) and the other three nucleotidyltransferase genes (aadB, aadA and aadE) exhibited positive correlations with intI1 (r ² = 0.83–0.94; P < 0.05), implying the significance of horizontal transfer in their proliferation. These results and facts will be helpful to understand the abundance and distribution of ARGs from antibiotic production wastewater treatment systems.

     

MBR工艺处理螺旋霉素制药废水过程中抗生素耐药菌与抗性基因的研究

抗生素废水含有大量的抗生素耐药菌(antibiotic resistant bacteria,ARB)与抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs),处理排放后可能增强受纳环境的微生物抗性,因此有必要深入研究抗生素废水处理过程中ARB与ARGs的削减效果及其影响因素。本研究采用膜生物反应器(membrane bioreactor,MBR)工艺处理螺旋霉素制药废水,考察了不同水力停留时间(hydraulic retention time,HRT)对ARB与ARGs削减效果的影响。结果表明,虽然在HRT=30 h时MBR对COD与氨氮的去除率略高于HRT=40 h,但HRT=40 h时,不仅总异养菌与肠球菌的去除效果更佳,出水肠球菌耐药率及携带的抗性基因检出率也更低,而且MBR对废水中erm B、erm F、erm X、mef A、ere A、mph B和转移元件ISCR 1、Tn 916/1545相对丰度的削减效果更好。这表明长HRT更有利于MBR工艺削减螺旋霉素废水的耐药菌与抗性基因。     

Distribution and removal of antibiotic resistance genes during anaerobic sludge digestion with alkaline,thermal hydrolysis and ultrasonic pretreatments

Sludge digestion is critical to control the spread of ARGs from wastewater to soil. Fate of ARGs in three pretreatment-AD processes was investigated. UP was more efficient for ARGs removal than AP and THP in pretreatment-AD process. The total ARGs concentration showed significant correlation with 16S rRNA gene. The bacteria carrying ARGs could be mainly affiliated with Proteobacteria. Sewage sludge in the wastewater treatment plants contains considerable amount of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). A few studies have reported that anaerobic digestion (AD) could successfully remove some ARGs from sewage sludge, but information on the fate of ARGs in sludge pretreatment-AD process is still very limited. In this study, three sludge pretreatment methods, including alkaline, thermal hydrolysis and ultrasonic pretreatments, were compared to investigate the distribution and removal of ARGs in the sludge pretreatment-AD process. Results showed that the ARGs removal efficiency of AD itself was approximately 50.77%, and if these three sludge pretreatments were applied, the total ARGs removal efficiency of the whole pretreatment-AD process could be improved up to 52.50%–75.07%. The ultrasonic pretreatment was more efficient than alkaline and thermal hydrolysis pretreatments. Although thermal hydrolysis reduced ARGs obviously, the total ARGs rebounded considerably after inoculation and were only removed slightly in the subsequent AD process. Furthermore, it was found that the total ARGs concentration significantly correlated with the amount of 16S rRNA gene during the pretreatment and AD processes, and the bacteria carrying ARGs could be mainly affiliated with Proteobacteria.     

Distribution of quinolone and macrolide resistance genes and their co-occurrence with heavy metal resistance genes in vegetable soils with long-term application of manure

The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has become an increasingly serious global public health issue. This study investigated the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of ARB and ARGs in greenhouse vegetable soils with long-term application of manure. Five typical ARGs, four heavy metal resistance genes (MRGs), and two mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The amount of ARB in manure-improved soil greatly exceeded that in control soil, and the bacterial resistance rate decreased significantly with increases in antibiotic concentrations. In addition, the resistance rate of ARB to enrofloxacin (ENR) was lower than that of tylosin (TYL). Real-time qPCR results showed that long-term application of manure enhanced the relative abundance of ARGs in vegetable soils, and the content and proportion of quinolone resistance genes were higher than those of macrolide resistance genes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that qepA and qnrS significantly correlated with total and available amounts of Cu and Zn, highlighting that certain heavy metals can influence persistence of ARGs. Integrase gene intI1 correlated significantly with the relative abundance of qepA, qnrS, and ermF, suggesting that intI1 played an important role in the horizontal transfer of ARGs. Furthermore, there was a weakly but not significantly positive correlation between specific detected MRGs and ARGs and MGEs. The results of this study enhance understanding the potential for increasing ARGs in manure-applied soil, assessing ecological risk and reducing the spread of ARGs.

Graphic abstract

     

Environmental effects and risk control of antibiotic resistance genes in the organic solid waste aerobic composting system: A review

• ARGs were detected in livestock manure, sludge, food waste and fermentation dregs. • The succession of microbial community is an important factor affecting ARGs. • Horizontal transfer mechanism of ARGs during composting should be further studied. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been diffusely detected in several kinds of organic solid waste, such as livestock manure, sludge, antibiotic fermentation residues, and food waste, thus attracting great attention. Aerobic composting, which is an effective, harmless treatment method for organic solid waste to promote recycling, has been identified to also aid in ARG reduction. However, the effect of composting in removing ARGs from organic solid waste has recently become controversial. Thus, this article summarizes and reviews the research on ARGs in relation to composting in the past 5 years. ARGs in organic solid waste could spread in different environmental media, including soil and the atmosphere, which could widen environmental risks. However, the conventional composting technology had limited effect on ARGs removal from organic solid waste. Improved composting processes, such as hyperthermophilic temperature composting, could effectively remove ARGs, and the HGT of ARGs and the microbial communities are identified as vital influencing factors. Currently, during the composting process, ARGs were mainly affected by three response pathways, (I) “Microenvironment-ARGs”; (II) “Microenvironment-microorganisms-ARGs”; (III) “Microorganisms-horizontal gene transfer-ARGs”, respectively. Response pathway II had been studied the most which was believed that microbial community was an important factor affecting ARGs. In response pathway III, mainly believed that MGEs played an important role and paid less attention to eARGs. Further research on the role and impact of eARGs in ARGs may be considered in the future. It aims to provide support for further research on environmental risk control of ARGs in organic solid waste.     

抗生素的环境残留、生态毒性及抗性基因污染

抗生素的环境污染与生态毒害问题近年来引起了极大的关注.在总结国内外相关研究基础上,对环境中几种典型抗生素(四环素、土霉素、氯四环素和磺胺类等)的污染源以及在水和土壤环境中的残留与污染水平进行了分析;对抗生素的污染生态毒性最新研究进展给予了评述;对抗生素抗性基因在环境中可能的暴露途径进行了探讨,指出应将抗生素抗性基因作为一类新的环境污染物.鉴于我国抗生素污染的严峻事实,建议应从国家层面上尽快开展有关抗生素环境污染和生态毒害机理的系统研究.     

Influence of hydraulic retention time on behavior of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in aerobic granular reactor treating biogas slurry

Longer HRT can enhance degradation rate of sulfamethoxazole in granular reactor. Longer HRT can reduce accumulated concentrations of TCs and QNs in sludge. Longer HRT may have increased relative abundances of ARGs in aerobic granules. The behavior of antibiotics and the corresponding resistance genes in aerobic granular reactors for treating biogas slurry under different hydraulic retention times (10.7 h, R1; 8 h, R2) was investigated in this study. The results indicated that the hydraulic retention time could affect the effluent concentrations and removal efficiencies of sulfonamides. The average removal rates of tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, and sulfonamides were 63%, 46%, and 90% in R1, and 62%, 46%, and 86% in R2, respectively. Although the removal efficiencies of tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones were similar in both reactors, the respective accumulated concentrations of tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones in R1 were 7.00 and 11.15 µg/g SS, which were lower than those in R2 (8.92 and 13.37 µg/g SS, respectively). The difference in the relative abundance of target antibiotic resistance genes between both reactors was not significant, yet the average relative abundances of all target resistance genes in R1 were higher than those in R2 after 45 days of operation. The results of this study suggested that a longer hydraulic retention time could enhance the antibiotic removal ability of aerobic granular sludge, yet it may also increase the risk of surplus sludge utilization from a resistance genes point of view.