The effect of synthetic silver nanoparticles on the antibiotic resistome and the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes in a hybrid filter system treating municipal wastewater.

Autor: Nõlvak H; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia. Electronic address: hiie.nolvak@ut.ee., Truu M; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia., Tiirik K; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia., Devarajan AK; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia., Peeb A; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia., Truu J; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, Tartu 51010, Estonia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Water research [Water Res] 2023 Jun 15; Vol. 237, pp. 119986. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Apr 19.
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119986
Abstrakt: Engineered nanoparticles, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), are released into the environment mainly through wastewater treatment systems. Knowledge of the impact of AgNPs on the abundance and removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment facilities, including constructed wetlands (CWs), is essential in the context of public health. This study evaluated the effect of increased (100-fold) collargol (protein-coated AgNPs) and ionic Ag + in municipal wastewater on the structure, abundance, and removal efficiency of the antibiotic resistome, integron-integrase genes, and pathogens in a hybrid CW using quantitative PCR and metagenomic approaches. The abundance of ARGs in wastewater and the removal efficiency of ARGs in the hybrid system were significantly affected by higher Ag concentrations, especially with collargol treatment, resulting in an elevated ARG discharge of system effluent into the environment. The accumulated Ag in the filters had a more profound effect on the absolute and relative abundance of ARGs in the treated water than the Ag content in the water. This study recorded significantly enhanced relative abundance values for tetracycline (tetA, tetC, tetQ), sulfonamide (sul1, sul2), and aminoglycoside (aadA) resistance genes, which are frequently found on mobile genetic elements in collargol- and, to a lesser extent, AgNO 3 -treated subsystems. Elevated plasmid and integron-integrase gene levels, especially intI1, in response to collargol presence indicated the substantial role of AgNPs in promoting horizontal gene transfer in the treatment system. The pathogenic segment of the prokaryotic community was similar to a typical sewage community, and strong correlations between pathogen and ARG proportions were recorded in vertical subsurface flow filters. Furthermore, the proportion of Salmonella enterica was positively related to the Ag content in these filter effluents. The effect of AgNPs on the nature and characteristics of prominent resistance genes carried by mobile genetic elements in CWs requires further investigation.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE