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Exploring the antibiotic resistome in activated sludge and anaerobic digestion sludge in an urban wastewater treatment plant via metagenomic analysis

  • Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging contaminants that pose a potential threat to human health worldwide. Urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a main source of both antibiotic-resistant bacteria and ARGs released into the environment. Nevertheless, the propagation of ARGs and their underlying mechanisms and the dynamics of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in WWTPs have rarely been investigated in South Korea. In this study, shotgun metagenomic analysis was used to identify comprehensive ARGs and their mechanisms, bacterial communities, and MGEs from 4 configurations with 2 activated sludge (AS) and 2 anaerobic digestion sludge (ADS) samples. A total of 181 ARG subtypes belonging to 22 ARG types were broadly detected, and the ARG abundances in the AS samples were 1.3–2.0 orders of magnitude higher than in the ADS samples. Multidrug and bacitracin resistance genes were the predominant ARG types in AS samples, followed by ARGs against sulfonamide, tetracycline, and β-lactam. However, the composition of ARG types in ADS samples was significantly changed. The abundance of multidrug and β-lactam resistance genes was drastically reduced in the ADS samples. The resistance genes of MLS were the predominant, followed by ARGs against sulfonamide and tetracycline in the ADS samples. In addition, plasmids were the dominant MGEs in the AS samples, while integrons (intI1) were the dominant MGEs in the ADS samples. These results provide valuable information regarding the prevalence of ARG types and MGEs and the difference patterns between the AS and ADS systems.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2018R1-A6A1A08025348).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, 49112, Republic of Korea

    Keunje Yoo

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Hyunji Yoo, Jangho Lee & Joonhong Park

  3. Department of Systems Biology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Eun Joo Choi

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  1. Keunje Yoo
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Correspondence to Joonhong Park.

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Yoo, K., Yoo, H., Lee, J. et al. Exploring the antibiotic resistome in activated sludge and anaerobic digestion sludge in an urban wastewater treatment plant via metagenomic analysis. J Microbiol. 58, 123–130 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-020-9309-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-020-9309-y

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