This study aimed to investigate the influence of cropping method and substrate type on the fate and the removal of bacterial and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) indicators from primary wastewater by constructed wetlands (CWs) during startup and maturation stages. Four small-scale CWs differing in their plantation pattern (monoculture vs. polyculture) and substrate type were constructed and operated under field conditions. While for bacteria, the greatest impact of the cropping method and substrate type on removal was during the startup stage rather than the maturation stage, for ARGs, such impact was significant at both stages. During startup, the removal efficiencies of heterotrophic bacteria, fecal coliforms, E. coli, 16S rRNA genes and lacZ increased with the operation time. At maturation, the removal efficiencies were constant and were within the range of 89.2-99.4%, 93.7-98.9%, 89-98.8%, 94.1-99.6% and 92.9-98.7%, respectively. The removal efficiencies of intl1, tetM, intl1, sul1, ermB and total ARGs were also increased with the operation time. However, they were ARG type and configuration-dependent; at maturation they ranged between 50.7%-89.4%, 85.9%-97%, 49.6%-92.9%, 58.2%-96.7% and 79.9-94.3%, respectively. The tuff-filled serially planted CW was also the only one capable of removing these genes at similar high efficiency. Metagenomic analysis showed that none of the ARGs was amongst the most common ARGs in water and biofilm samples; rather most ARGs belonged to bacterial efflux transporter superfamilies. Although ARGs were removed, they were still detected in substrate biofilm and their relative concentrations were increased in the effluents. While the removal of both bacteria and ARGs was higher during summer compared to winter, the season had no effect on the removal pattern of ARGs. Hence, combination of the serial plantation with substrate having high surface area is a potential strategy that can be used to improve the performance of CWs.

这项研究旨在调查种植方法和基质类型对命运的影响以及人工湿地（CW）在启动和成熟阶段从原始废水中去除细菌和抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）指标的影响。在田间条件下建造并运行了四个小型CW，它们的种植方式（单一栽培与混养）和基质类型不同。对于细菌而言，种植方法和基质类型对去除的最大影响是在启动阶段，而不是在成熟阶段，而对于ARG，在两个阶段，这种影响都是显着的。启动过程中，异养细菌，粪便大肠菌，大肠杆菌，16S rRNA基因和lacZ的去除效率随着手术时间的增加。在成熟时，去除效率是恒定的，并且分别在89.2-99.4％，93.7-98.9％，89-98.8％，94.1-99.6％和92.9-98.7％的范围内。Intl 1，tet M，intl 1，sul 1，erm的去除效率B和总ARGs也随着手术时间的增加而增加。但是，它们取决于ARG类型和配置。在成熟时，它们的范围分别为50.7％-89.4％，85.9％-97％，49.6％-92.9％，58.2％-96.7％和79.9-94.3％。凝灰岩填充的连续种植的CW也是唯一能够以类似的高效率去除这些基因的植物。元基因组学分析显示，在水和生物膜样品中，没有一种ARGs属于最常见的ARGs。相反，大多数ARG属于细菌外排转运蛋白超家族。尽管去除了ARGs，但仍在底物生物膜中检测到了它们，并且在废水中它们的相对浓度增加了。尽管与冬季相比，夏季细菌和ARGs的去除率均较高，但该季节对ARGs的去除模式没有影响。因此，