# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 7945 | 0 | 0.9548 | Effects of eutrophication on the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in microalgal-bacterial symbiotic systems. Overloading of nutrients such as nitrogen causes eutrophication of freshwater bodies. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) poses a threat to ecosystems. However, studies on the enrichment and spread of ARGs from increased nitrogen loading in algal-bacterial symbiotic systems are limited. In this study, the transfer of extracellular kanamycin resistance (KR) genes from large (RP4) small (pEASY-T1) plasmids into the intracellular and extracellular DNA (iDNA, eDNA) of the inter-algal environment of Chlorella pyrenoidosa was investigated, along with the community structure of free-living (FL) and particle-attached (PA) bacteria under different nitrogen source concentrations (0-2.5 g/L KNO(3)). The results showed that KR gene abundance in the eDNA adsorbed on solid particles (D-eDNA) increased initially and then decreased with increasing nitrogen concentration, while the opposite was true for the rest of the free eDNA (E-eDNA). Medium nitrogen concentrations promoted the transfer of extracellular KR genes into the iDNA attached to algal microorganisms (A-iDNA), eDNA attached to algae (B-eDNA), and the iDNA of free microorganisms (C-iDNA); high nitrogen contributed to the transfer of KR genes into C-iDNA. The highest percentage of KR genes was found in B-eDNA with RP4 plasmid treatment (66.2%) and in C-iDNA with pEASY-T1 plasmid treatment (86.88%). In addition, dissolved oxygen (DO) significantly affected the bacterial PA and FL community compositions. Nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) reflected the abundance of ARGs in algae. Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteriota were the main potential hosts of ARGs. These findings provide new insights into the distribution and dispersal of ARGs in the phytoplankton inter-algal environment. | 2024 | 38493856 |
| 8105 | 1 | 0.9536 | Refluxing mature compost to replace bulking agents: A low-cost solution for suppressing antibiotic resistance genes rebound in sewage sludge composting. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) rebounding during composting cooling phase is a critical bottleneck in composting technology that increased ARGs dissemination and application risk of compost products. In this study, mature compost (MR) was used as a substitute for rice husk (RH) to mitigate the rebound of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) during the cooling phase of sewage sludge composting, and the relationship among ARGs, MGEs, bacterial community and environmental factors was investigated to explore the key factor influencing ARGs rebound. The results showed that aadD, blaCTX-M02, ermF, ermB, tetX and vanHB significantly increased 4.76-32.41 times, and the MGEs rebounded by 38.60% in the cooling phase of RH composting. Conversely, MR reduced aadD, tetM, ermF and ermB concentrations by 59.49-98.58%, and reduced the total abundance of ARGs in the compost product by 49.32% compared to RH, which significantly restrained ARGs rebound. MR promoted secondary high temperature inactivation of potential host bacteria, including Ornithinibacter, Rhizobiales and Caldicoprobacter, which could harbor aadE, blaCTX-M02, and blaVEB. It also reduced the abundance of lignocellulose degrading bacteria of Firmicutes, which were potential hosts of aadD, tetX, ermF and vanHB. Moreover, MR reduced moisture and increased oxidation reduction potential (ORP) that promoted aadE, tetQ, tetW abatement. Furthermore, MR reduced 97.36% of total MGEs including Tn916/1545, IS613, Tp614 and intI3, which alleviated ARGs horizontal transfer. Overall finding proposed mature compost reflux as bulking agent was a simple method to suppress ARGs rebound and horizontal transfer, improve ARGs removal and reduce composting plant cost. | 2025 | 39798649 |
| 8110 | 2 | 0.9523 | Removal of chlortetracycline and antibiotic resistance genes in soil by earthworms (epigeic Eisenia fetida and endogeic Metaphire guillelmi). The impacts of two ecological earthworms on the removal of chlortetracycline (CTC, 0.5 and 15 mg kg(-1)) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil were explored through the soil column experiments. The findings showed that earthworm could significantly accelerate the degradation of CTC and its metabolites (ECTC) in soil (P < 0.05), with epigeic Eisenia fetida promoting degradation rapidly and endogeic Metaphire guillelmi exhibiting a slightly better elimination effect. Earthworms alleviated the abundances of tetR, tetD, tetPB, tetG, tetA, sul1, TnpA, ttgB and intI1 in soil, with the total relative abundances of ARGs decreasing by 35.0-44.2% in earthworm treatments at the 28th day of cultivation. High throughput sequencing results displayed that the structure of soil bacteria community was modified apparently with earthworm added, and some possible CTC degraders, Aeromonas, Flavobacterium and Luteolibacter, were promoted by two kinds of earthworms. Redundancy analysis demonstrated that the reduction of CTC residues, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes owing to earthworm stimulation was responsible for the removal of ARGs and intI1 in soil. Additionally, intI1 declined obviously in earthworm treatments, which could weaken the risk of horizontal transmission of ARGs. Therefore, earthworm could restore the CTC-contaminated soil via enhancing the removal of CTC, its metabolites and ARGs. | 2021 | 33798888 |
| 8054 | 3 | 0.9517 | Effects of nanoscale zero-valent iron on the performance and the fate of antibiotic resistance genes during thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste. The effects of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) on the performance of food waste anaerobic digestion and the fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were investigated in thermophilic (TR) and mesophilic (MR) reactors. Results showed that nZVI enhanced biogas production and facilitated ARGs reduction. The maximum CH(4) production was 212.00 ± 4.77 ml/gVS with 5 g/L of nZVI in MR. The highest ARGs removal ratio was 86.64 ± 0.72% obtained in TR at nZVI of 2 g/L. nZVI corrosion products and their contribution on AD performance were analyzed. The abundance of tetracycline genes reduced significantly in nZVI amended digesters. Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Spirochaetes showed significant positive correlations with various ARGs (p < 0.05) in MR and TR. Redundancy analysis indicated that microbial community was the main factor that influenced the fate of ARGs. nZVI changed microbial communities, with decreasing the abundance bacteria belonging to Firmicutes and resulting in the reduction of ARGs. | 2019 | 31505392 |
| 7745 | 4 | 0.9517 | Iron-modified biochar boosts anaerobic digestion of sulfamethoxazole pharmaceutical wastewater: Performance and microbial mechanism. The accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) caused by antibiotic inhibition significantly reduces the treatment efficiency of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) wastewater. Few studies have been conducted to study the VFAs gradient metabolism of extracellular respiratory bacteria (ERB) and hydrogenotrophic methanogen (HM) under high-concentration sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs). And the effects of iron-modified biochar on antibiotics are unknown. Here, the iron-modified biochar was added to an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) to intensify the anaerobic digestion of SMX pharmaceutical wastewater. The results demonstrated that ERB and HM were developed after adding iron-modified biochar, promoting the degradation of butyric, propionic and acetic acids. The content of VFAs reduced from 1166.0 mg L(-1) to 291.5 mg L(-1). Therefore, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and SMX removal efficiency were improved by 22.76% and 36.51%, and methane production was enhanced by 6.19 times. Furthermore, the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) such as sul1, sul2, intl1 in effluent were decreased by 39.31%, 43.33%, 44.11%. AUTHM297 (18.07%), Methanobacterium (16.05%), Geobacter (6.05%) were enriched after enhancement. The net energy after enhancement was 0.7122 kWh m(-3). These results confirmed that ERB and HM were enriched via iron-modified biochar to achieve high efficiency of SMX wastewater treatment. | 2023 | 37030222 |
| 8126 | 5 | 0.9516 | Antiallergic drugs drive the alteration of microbial community and antibiotic resistome in surface waters: A metagenomic perspective. Antiallergic drugs (AADs) are emerging contaminants of global concern due to their environmental persistence and potential ecological impacts. This study investigated the effects of seven AADs (chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, cetirizine, loratadine, desloratadine, sodium cromoglicate and calcium gluconate) at environmentally relevant concentrations on antibiotic resistome and bacterial community structures in water using microcosm experiments and metagenomic sequencing. The results showed that AADs increased the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) by 1.24- to 7.78-fold. Community structure shifts indicated that chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, and cetirizine promoted Actinobacteria (e.g., Aurantimicrobium), while the other four AADs favored Proteobacteria (e.g., Limnohabitans). AADs also significantly altered the relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria identified as key ARB components and potential hosts of ARGs (e.g., evgS, mtrA, RanA). Host analysis showed ARGs were primarily carried by Actinobacteria (e.g., Aurantimicrobium) under chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, and cetirizine exposure, but by Proteobacteria (e.g., Limnohabitans) under the other four AADs. Furthermore, AADs facilitated the horizontal transfer of ARGs (e.g., evgS) within microbial communities, contributing to antibiotic resistance dissemination. This study highlights the ecological risks of AADs in promoting antibiotic resistance spread and provides new insights into their impact on microbial communities and resistome dynamics in aquatic environments. | 2025 | 40570627 |
| 7743 | 6 | 0.9515 | Integrated meta-omics study on rapid tylosin removal mechanism and dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes during aerobic thermophilic fermentation of tylosin mycelial dregs. For efficient treatment of tylosin mycelial dregs (TMDs), rapid tylosin removal mechanism and dynamics of ARGs during TMDs fermentation were investigated using integrated meta-omics (genomics, metaproteomics and metabolomics) and qPCR approaches. The results showed that over 86% of tylosin was degraded on day 7 regardless of the type of bulking agents. The rapid removal of tylosin was mainly attributed to de-mycarose reaction (GH3) and esterase hydrolysis (C7MYQ7) of Saccharomonospora, and catalase-peroxidase oxidation of Bacillus (A0A077JB13). In addition, the moisture content and mobile genetic elements were vital to control the rebound of ARGs. The removal efficiency of antibiotic resistant bacteria (Streptomyces, Pseudomonas, norank_f__Sphingobacteriaceae, and Paenalcaligenes) and Intl1 (98.8%) in fermentation treatment TC21 with corncob as the bulking agent was significantly higher than that in other three treatments (88.3%). Thus, appropriate bulking agents could constrain the abundance of antibiotic resistant bacteria and Intl1, which is crucial to effectively reduce the resistance. | 2022 | 35307520 |
| 7940 | 7 | 0.9514 | Microplastics affect the ammonia oxidation performance of aerobic granular sludge and enrich the intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes. Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), as emerging pollutants, are frequently detected in wastewater treatment plants, and their threats to the environment have received extensive attentions. However, the effects of MPs on the nitrification of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) and the spread patterns of intracellular and extracellular ARGs (iARGs and eARGs) in AGS were still unknown. In this study, the responses of AGS to the exposure of 1, 10 and 100 mg/L of typical MPs (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyamide (PA), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE)) and tetracycline were focused on in 3 L nitrifying sequencing batch reactors. 10 mg/L MPs decreased the nitrification function, but nitrification could recover. Furthermore, MPs inhibited ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and enriched nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, leading partial nitrification to losing stability. PVC, PA and PS stimulated the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances and reactive oxygen species. PE had less negative effect on AGS than PVC, PA and PS. The abundances of iARGs and eARGs (tetW, tetE and intI1) increased significantly and the intracellular and extracellular microbial communities obviously shifted in AGS system under MPs stress. Potential pathogenic bacteria might be the common hosts of iARGs and eARGs in AGS system and were enriched in AGS and MPs biofilms. | 2021 | 33387747 |
| 7944 | 8 | 0.9511 | Effects of nitrogen-driven eutrophication on the horizontal transfer of extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in water-sediment environments. Excessive nitrogen and other nutrients can trigger the eutrophication of freshwater bodies. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are now recognized as environmental pollutants, with extracellular ARGs (eARGs) being the dominant form in sediments. However, research on the propagation characteristics of eARGs remains limited. This study investigated the transfer characteristics of kanamycin resistance (KR) genes in the pEASY-T1 plasmid to intracellular DNA (iDNA) and extracellular DNA (eDNA) in water and sediment microenvironments under increasing nitrogen concentrations, as well as the community structure of free-living (FL) and particle-attached (PA) bacteria. The results revealed KR genes relative abundance in free extracellular DNA (f-eDNA) and adsorbed extracellular DNA (a-eDNA) of the water initially decreased and then increased with rising nitrogen concentrations. Its abundance in iDNA of the sediments decreased significantly with increasing nitrogen content, with relative abundance ranging from 5.09 × 10(-4) to 1.14 × 10(-3) copies/16SrRNA. The transfer from eDNA to iDNA in the water showed a rising and then falling trend as nitrogen concentration rose. The transfer of iDNA from the water to iDNA in sediments exhibited the opposite pattern. Additionally, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were identified as key factors influencing the abundance of KR genes in the water, but total phosphorus (TP) was the primary determinant of KR gene distribution in sediments according to random forest analysis. These findings reveal novel mechanisms of eARG propagation in eutrophic environments, providing a theoretical foundation for managing antibiotic resistance in aquatic ecosystems. | 2025 | 40057108 |
| 6904 | 9 | 0.9510 | Ionic Liquid Enriches the Antibiotic Resistome, Especially Efflux Pump Genes, Before Significantly Affecting Microbial Community Structure. An expanding list of chemicals may permeabilize bacterial cells and facilitate horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which enhances propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. Previous studies showed that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIm][PF6]), an ionic liquid, can facilitate HGT of some ARGs among bacteria. However, the dynamic response of a wider range of ARGs and associated mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in different environments is unknown. Here, we used metagenomic tools to study shifts of the resistome and microbiome in both sediments and freshwater microcosms exposed to [BMIm][PF6]. Exposure for 16 h to 0.1 or 1.0 g/L significantly enriched more than 207 ARG subtypes primarily encoding efflux pumps in freshwater microcosms as well as cultivable antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This resistome enrichment was attributed to HGT facilitated by MGEs (428 plasmids, 61 integron-integrase genes, and 45 gene cassettes were enriched) as well as to HGT-related functional genes. Interestingly, resistome enrichment occurred fast (within 16 h) after [BMIm][PF6] exposure, before any significant changes in bacterial community structure. Similar ARG enrichment occurred in sediment microcosms exposed to [BMIm][PF6] for 28 d, and this longer exposure affected the microbial community structure (e.g., Proteobacteria abundance increased significantly). Overall, this study suggests that [BMIm][PF6] releases could rapidly enrich the antibiotic resistome in receiving environments by increasing HGT and fortuitously selecting for efflux pump genes, thus contributing to ARG propagation. | 2020 | 31944684 |
| 7859 | 10 | 0.9509 | Abatement of antibiotics and resistance genes during catalytic ozonation enhanced sludge dewatering process: Synchronized in volume and hazardousness reduction. Based on the efficiency of the catalytic ozonation techniques (HDWS+O(3) and MnFe(2)O(4) @SBC+O(3)) in enhancing the sludge dewaterability, the effectiveness in synchronized abatement antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was conducted to determine. The results revealed that catalytic ozonation conditioning altered the distribution of target antibiotics (tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), norfloxacin (NOR), ofloxacin (OFL)) in the dewatered filtrate, the dewatered sludge cake and the extra-microcolony/cellular polymers (EMPS/ECPS) layers, achieving the redistribution from solid-phase adsorption to liquid-phase dissolution. The total degradation rate was over 90% for TC and OTC, 72-78% for NOR and OFL; the abatement efficiency of eleven ARGs reached 1.47-3.01 log and 1.64-3.59 log, respectively, and more than four eARGs were eliminated. The effective abatement of the absolute abundance of Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) (0.91-1.89 log) demonstrated that catalytic ozonation conditioning could also significantly inhibit horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The abundance of resistant bacteria was greatly reduced and the signal transduction of the typical ARGs host bacteria was inhibited. The highly reactive oxidation species (ROS) generated were responsible for the abatement of antibiotics and ARGs. These findings provided new insights into the sludge conditioning for ideal and synchronized reduction in volume and hazardousness by catalytic ozonation processes in sludge treatment. | 2024 | 37944236 |
| 8111 | 11 | 0.9509 | Effect of alkaline-thermal pretreatment on biodegradable plastics degradation and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in co-compost system. Biodegradable plastics (BDPs) are an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastics in organic waste, but their microbial degradation and impact on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) transmission during co-composting remain poorly understood. This study examines how alkaline-thermal pretreatment enhances BDPs degradation and influences the fate of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in co-composting. Pretreatment with 0.1 mol/L NaOH at 100℃ for 40 minutes increased the surface roughness and hydrophilicity of BDPs while reducing their molecular weight and thermal stability. Incorporating pretreated BDPs film (8 g/kg-TS) into the compost reduced the molecular weight of the BDPs by 59.70 % during the maturation stage, facilitating compost heating and prolonging the thermophilic stage. However, incomplete degradation of BDPs releases numerous smaller-sized microplastics, which can act as carriers for microorganisms, facilitating the dissemination of ARGs across environments and posing significant ecological and public health risks. Metagenomic analysis revealed that pretreatment enriched plastic-degrading bacteria, such as Thermobifida fusca, on BDPs surfaces and accelerated microbial plastic degradation during the thermophilic stage, but also increased ARGs abundance. Although pretreatment significantly reduced MGEs abundance (tnpA, IS19), the risk of ARGs dissemination remained. Three plastic-degrading bacteria (Pigmentiphaga sp002188465, Bacillus clausii, and Bacillus altitudinis) were identified as ARGs hosts, underscoring the need to address the risk of horizontal gene transfer of ARGs associated with pretreatment in organic waste management. | 2025 | 39970645 |
| 7855 | 12 | 0.9505 | Combat against antibiotic resistance genes during photo-treatment of magnetic Zr-MOFs@Layered double hydroxide heterojunction: Conjugative transfer risk mitigating and bacterial inactivation. The dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in wastewater treatment poses a severe threat to the global ecological environment. This study explored the effectiveness of photocatalysis in inactivating antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and quantitatively clarified the inhibiting rate of the transfer of antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs). Herein, the magnetic heterojunction as UiO-66-NH(2)@CuFe LDH-Fe(3)O(4) (UN-66@LDH-Fe) effectively facilitated the electron-hole separation and accelerated the photogenerated charge transfer, thereby guaranteeing the stable practical application in aeration tanks. Notably, the internal electric field of heterogeneous photocatalyst resulted in significant increase of ARGs inactivation, achieving 5.63 log of ARB, 3.66 log of tetA and 3.57 log of Ampr genes were photodegraded under optimal reaction conditions within 6 h. Based on the complex microbial and molecular mechanism of multiple-ARB communities inactivation in photo-treatment, the photogenerated reactive oxygen species (ROSs, ·OH and ·O(2)(-)) effectively destroyed bacterial membrane protein, thereby the intracellular ROSs and redox cycles further induced oxidative stress, attributing to the abundance reduction of ARGs and their host bacteria. Moreover, long-term (7 days) continuous operation preliminarily verified the practical potential in reducing AMR spread and developing wastewater treatment efficacy. Overall, this study presented an advantageous synergistic strategy for mitigating the AMR-associated environmental risk in wastewater treatment. | 2025 | 40188541 |
| 7941 | 13 | 0.9504 | Microplastics accelerate nitrification, shape the microbial community, and alter antibiotic resistance during the nitrifying process. Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are both emerging pollutants that are frequently detected in wastewater treatment plants. In this study, the effects of various MPs, including polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA), on nitrification performance, dominant microbial communities, and antibiotic resistance during nitrification were investigated. The results revealed that the addition of MPs increased the specific ammonia oxidation rate and specific nitrate production rate by 15.2 % - 15.5 % and 8.0 % - 11.6 %, respectively, via enrichment of nitrifying microorganisms, Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas. Moreover, ARGs were selectively enriched in nitrifying sludge and microplastic biofilms under stress from different MPs. Compared with PE-MPs (23.9 %) and PVC-MPs (21.4 %), exposure to PLA-MPs significantly increased intI1 abundance by 51.6 %. The results of the variance decomposition analysis implied that MPs and the microbial community play important roles in the behavior of ARGs. Network analysis indicated that Nitrosomonas and potentially pathogenic bacteria emerged as possible hosts, harboring ARGs and intI1 genes in the nitrifying sludge and microplastic biofilms. Critically, PLA-MPs were found to enrich both ARGs and potential pathogenic bacteria during nitrification, which should be considered in their promotion of application processes due to their biodegradability. | 2025 | 39740624 |
| 8055 | 14 | 0.9503 | Effects of nano-zerovalent iron on antibiotic resistance genes during the anaerobic digestion of cattle manure. This study investigated the effects of adding nano-zerovalent iron (nZVI) at three concentrations (0, 80, and 160 mg/L) on the methane yield and the fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during the anaerobic digestion (AD) of cattle manure. The addition of nZVI effectively enhanced the methane yield, where it significantly increased by 6.56% with 80 mg/L nZVI and by 6.43% with 160 mg/L nZVI. The reductions in the abundances of ARGs and Tn916/1545 were accelerated by adding 160 mg/L nZVI after AD. Microbial community analysis showed that nZVI mainly increased the abundances of bacteria with roles in hydrolysis and acidogenesis, whereas it reduced the abundance of Acinetobacter. Redundancy analysis indicated that the changes in mobile genetic elements made the greatest contribution to the fate of ARGs. The results suggest that 160 mg/L nZVI is a suitable additive for reducing the risks due to ARGs in AD. | 2019 | 31247529 |
| 8017 | 15 | 0.9503 | Dose-Dependent Effect of Tilmicosin Residues on ermA Rebound Mediated by IntI1 in Pig Manure Compost. The impact of varying antibiotic residue levels on antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) removal during composting is still unclear. This study investigated the impact of different residue levels of tilmicosin (TIM), a common veterinary macrolide antibiotic, on ARG removal during pig manure composting. Three groups were used: the CK group (no TIM), the L group (246.49 ± 22.83 mg/kg TIM), and the H group (529.99 ± 16.15 mg/kg TIM). Composting removed most targeted macrolide resistance genes (MRGs) like ereA, ermC, and ermF (>90% removal), and reduced ermB, ermX, ermQ, acrA, acrB, and mefA (30-70% removal). However, ermA increased in abundance. TIM altered compost community structure, driving succession through a deterministic process. At low doses, TIM reduced MRG-bacteria co-occurrence, with horizontal gene transfer via intI1 being the main cause of ermA rebound. In conclusion, composting reduces many MRG levels in pig manure, but the persistence and rebound of genes like ermA reveal the complex interactions between composting conditions and microbial gene transfer. | 2025 | 41011454 |
| 8058 | 16 | 0.9503 | Effects of biochars on the fate of antibiotics and their resistance genes during vermicomposting of dewatered sludge. It is currently still difficult to decrease the high contents of antibiotics and their corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in sludge vermicompost. To decrease the environmental risk of vermicompost as a bio-fertilizer, this study investigated the feasibility of biochar addition to decrease the levels of antibiotics and ARGs during vermicomposting of dewatered sludge. To achieve this, 1.25% and 5% of corncob and rice husk biochars, respectively, were added to sludge, which was then vermicomposted by Eisenia fetida for 60 days. The sludge blended with corncob biochar showed increased decomposition and humification of organic matter. Higher biochar concentration promoted both the number and diversity of bacteria, and differed dominant genera. The level of antibiotics significantly decreased as a result of biochar addition (P < 0.05), and tetracycline was completely removed. Relative to the control without addition of biochars, ermF and tetX genes significantly decreased with corncob biochar treatment (P < 0.05). Rice husk biochar (5%) could effectively decrease sul-1 and sul-2 genes in vermicompost (P < 0.05). However, the abundance of the intI-1 gene increased with biochar concentration. This study suggests that biochar addition can lessen the antibiotic and ARG pollution in sludge vermicompost, depending on the type and concentration of biochars. | 2020 | 32388093 |
| 7893 | 17 | 0.9502 | Removal of ofloxacin and inhibition of antibiotic resistance gene spread during the aerobic biofilm treatment of rural domestic sewage through the micro-nano aeration technology. Micro-nano aeration (MNA) has great potential for emerging contaminant removal. However, the mechanism of antibiotic removal and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) spread, and the impact of the different aeration conditions remain unclear. This study investigated the adsorption and biodegradation of ofloxacin (OFL) and the spread of ARGs in aerobic biofilm systems under MNA and conventional aeration (CVA) conditions. Results showed that the MNA increased OFL removal by 17.27 %-40.54 % and decreased total ARG abundance by 36.37 %-54.98 %, compared with CVA. MNA-induced biofilm rough morphology, high zeta potential, and reduced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion enhanced OFL adsorption. High dissolved oxygen and temperature, induced by MNA-enriched aerobic bacteria and their carrying OFL-degrading genes, enhanced OFL biodegradation. MNA inhibited the enrichment of ARG host bacteria, which acquired ARGs possibly via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Functional profiles involved in the HGT process, including reactive oxygen species production, membrane permeability, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), adenosine triphosphate synthesis, and EPS secretion, were down-regulated by MNA, inhibiting ARG spread. Partial least-squares path modeling revealed that MGEs might be the main factor inhibiting ARG spread. This study provides insights into the mechanisms by which MNA enhances antibiotic removal and inhibits ARG spread in aerobic biofilm systems. | 2025 | 39733752 |
| 8070 | 18 | 0.9502 | Impacts of combined pollution under gradient increasing and gradient decreasing exposure modes on activated sludge: Microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes. The responses of microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to azithromycin and copper combined pollution under gradient increasing (from 0.5 to 10 mg/L) and decreasing exposure (from 10 to 0.5 mg/L) modes were investigated. Nitrification was inhibited more obviously under gradient increasing exposure mode. Responses of archaeal community and function structure were more obvious than bacteria under both exposure modes. The dominant bacterial and archaeal compositions (Hyphomicrobium, Euryarchaeota, etc.) were affected by two exposure modes, except some rare archaea (Methanoregula and Methanosarcina). There were more positive correlations between bacteria and archaea, and Nitrospira was keystone genus. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (0.37-3.06%) and complete ammonia oxidizers (Nitrospira_ENR4) were enriched, and Nitrososphaera_viennensis was closely related to denitrifying genes (napA/B, nosZ, etc.). 50 ARG subtypes were detected and specific ARG subtypes (aac, ImrA, etc.) proliferated in two exposure modes. Bacteria and archaea were common hosts for 24 ARGs and contributed to their shifts. | 2022 | 34921920 |
| 7876 | 19 | 0.9501 | Sulfamethoxazole impact on pollutant removal and microbial community of aerobic granular sludge with filamentous bacteria. In this study, sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was employed to investigate its impact on the process of aerobic granule sludge with filamentous bacteria (FAGS). FAGS has shown great tolerance ability. FAGS in a continuous flow reactor (CFR) could keep stable with 2 μg/L of SMX addition during long-term operation. The NH(4)(+), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and SMX removal efficiencies kept higher than 80%, 85%, and 80%, respectively. Both adsorption and biodegradation play important roles in SMX removal for FAGS. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) might play important role in SMX removal and FAGS tolerance to SMX. The EPS content increased from 157.84 mg/g VSS to 328.22 mg/g VSS with SMX addition. SMX has slightly affected on microorganism community. A high abundance of Rhodobacter, Gemmobacter, and Sphaerotilus of FAGS may positively correlate to SMX. The SMX addition has led to the increase in the abundance of the four sulfonamide resistance genes in FAGS. | 2023 | 36871701 |