Characterisation of microbial communities and quantification of antibiotic resistance genes in Italian wastewater treatment plants using 16S rRNA sequencing and digital PCR.

Autor: Bonanno Ferraro G; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, Italy., Bonomo C; Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, Italy., Brandtner D; Departments of Infectious Disease, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Mancini P; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Veneri C; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Briancesco R; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Coccia AM; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Lucentini L; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Suffredini E; Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy., Bongiorno D; Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, Italy., Musso N; Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, Italy., Stefani S; Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, Italy., La Rosa G; National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppina.larosa@iss.it.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Jul 10; Vol. 933, pp. 173217. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 13.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173217
Abstrakt: The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in humans, animals and environment is a growing threat to public health. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are crucial in mitigating the risk of environmental contamination by effectively removing contaminants before discharge. However, the persistence of ARB and ARGs even after treatment is a challenge for the management of water system. To comprehensively assess antimicrobial resistance dynamics, we conducted a one-year monitoring study in three WWTPs in central Italy, both influents and effluents. We used seasonal sampling to analyze microbial communities by 16S rRNA, as well as to determine the prevalence and behaviour of major ARGs (sul1, tetA, bla TEM , bla OXA-48 , bla CTX-M-1 group , bla KPC ) and the class 1 Integron (int1). Predominant genera included in order: Arcobacter, Acinetobacter, Flavobacterium, Pseudarcobacter, Bacteroides, Aeromonas, Trichococcus, Cloacibacterium, Pseudomonas and Streptococcus. A higher diversity of bacterial communities was observed in the effluents compared to the influents. Within these communities, we also identified bacteria that may be associated with antibiotic resistance and pose a significant threat to human health. The mean concentrations (in gene copies per liter, gc/L) of ARGs and int1 in untreated wastewater (absolute abundance) were as follows: sul1 (4.1 × 10 9 ), tetA (5.2 × 10 8 ), bla TEM (1.1 × 10 8 ), bla OXA-48 (2.1 × 10 7 ), bla CTX-M-1 group (1.1 × 10 7 ), bla KPC (9.4 × 10 5 ), and int1 (5.5 × 10 9 ). The mean values in treated effluents showed reductions ranging from one to three log. However, after normalizing to the 16S rRNA gene (relative abundance), it was observed that in 37.5 % (42/112) of measurements, the relative abundance of ARGs increased in effluents compared to influents. Furthermore, correlations were identified between ARGs and bacterial genera including priority pathogens. This study improves our understanding of the dynamics of ARGs and provides insights to develop more effective strategies to reduce their spread, protecting public health and preserving the future efficacy of antibiotics.
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 © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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