Phage emit communication signals that inform their lytic and lysogenic life cycles. However, little is known regarding the abundance and diversity of the genes associated with phage communication systems in wastewater treatment microbial communities. This study focused on phage communities within two distinct biochemical wastewater environments, specifically aerobic membrane bioreactors (AeMBRs) and anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) exposed to varying antibiotic concentrations. Metagenomic data from the bench-scale systems were analyzed to explore phage phylogeny, life cycles, and genetic capacity for antimicrobial resistance and quorum sensing. Two dominant phage families, and , exhibited redox-dependent dynamics. prevailed in anaerobic conditions, while dominated in aerobic conditions. Notably, the abundance of lytic and lysogenic proteins varied across conditions, suggesting the coexistence of both life cycles. Furthermore, the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) within viral contigs highlighted the potential for phage to transfer ARGs in AeMBRs. Finally, quorum sensing genes in the virome of AeMBRs indicated possible molecular signaling between phage and bacteria. Overall, this study provides insights into the dynamics of viral communities across varied redox conditions in MBRs. These findings shed light on phage life cycles, and auxiliary genetic capacity such as antibiotic resistance and bacterial quorum sensing within wastewater treatment microbial communities.

中文翻译：

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需氧和厌氧膜生物反应器中的噬菌体系统发育、分子信号传导和辅助抗菌药物耐药性

噬菌体发出通讯信号，告知其裂解和溶原生命周期。然而，人们对废水处理微生物群落中与噬菌体通讯系统相关的基因的丰度和多样性知之甚少。这项研究重点关注两种不同生化废水环境中的噬菌体群落，特别是暴露于不同抗生素浓度的好氧膜生物反应器（AeMBR）和厌氧膜生物反应器（AnMBR）。对来自实验室规模系统的宏基因组数据进行分析，以探索噬菌体系统发育、生命周期以及抗菌素耐药性和群体感应的遗传能力。两个主要噬菌体家族 和 表现出氧化还原依赖性动力学。在无氧条件下占优势，在有氧条件下占主导地位。值得注意的是，裂解蛋白和溶原蛋白的丰度因条件而异，表明这两种生命周期共存。此外，病毒重叠群中抗生素抗性基因 (ARG) 的存在凸显了噬菌体在 AeMBR 中转移 ARG 的潜力。最后，AeMBR 病毒组中的群体感应基因表明噬菌体和细菌之间可能存在分子信号传导。总体而言，这项研究提供了对 MBR 中不同氧化还原条件下病毒群落动态的深入了解。这些发现揭示了噬菌体的生命周期和辅助遗传能力，例如废水处理微生物群落中的抗生素抗性和细菌群体感应。