Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions
Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) harbours large amounts of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), the variation and fate of these emerging pollutants during sludge treatment processes must be thoroughly studied to reduce their poten...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019322548 |
| _version_ | 1828173633318551552 |
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| author | Chenxiang Sun Wei Li Zhan Chen Wentao Qin Xianghua Wen |
| author_facet | Chenxiang Sun Wei Li Zhan Chen Wentao Qin Xianghua Wen |
| author_sort | Chenxiang Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) harbours large amounts of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), the variation and fate of these emerging pollutants during sludge treatment processes must be thoroughly studied to reduce their potential risks to human health. In this study, 7 pilot-scale CSTR anaerobic digesters were established with the same seed sludge and fed with the same thermal hydrolysis pre-treated sewage sludge, while operating under different conditions. High-throughput quantitative PCR, UPLC-MS/MS and Illumina Hiseq-sequencing were used to systematically evaluate the responses of antibiotics, ARGs, and MGEs in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion (AD) conditions. The results showed that thermal hydrolysis effectively reduced the abundance (>94%) of almost all subtypes of ARGs and MGEs, and it was a powerful technology for reducing tetracyclines, macrolides, and lincosamides. Besides, the abundance of ARGs and MGEs in thermophilic digesters was lower than that in mesophilic digesters, suggesting that thermophilic digesters could be used to avoid the ARGs rebounding. In addition, the thermophilic system further reduced the concentrations of quinolones. For the digesters operated under the mesophilic conditions, a longer hydraulic retention time (HRT) facilitated the removal of antibiotics, ARGs, and MGEs. Furthermore, the microbial community and MGEs had important effects on the persistence and proliferation of ARGs in AD process. The findings of this study provide effective clues for controlling the spread of antibiotic resistance and suggest the optimal operating conditions of digesters. Keywords: Antibiotic, Antibiotic resistance gene, Thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment, Anaerobic digestion |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T03:58:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7821844ddda64443987aed89af1e2232 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T03:58:22Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-7821844ddda64443987aed89af1e22322022-12-22T03:48:46ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202019-12-01133Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditionsChenxiang Sun0Wei Li1Zhan Chen2Wentao Qin3Xianghua Wen4Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaBeijing Engineering Technology Research Center for Municipal Sewage Reclamation, R&D Center, Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100124, ChinaEnvironmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaEnvironmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaEnvironmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Corresponding author.Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) harbours large amounts of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), the variation and fate of these emerging pollutants during sludge treatment processes must be thoroughly studied to reduce their potential risks to human health. In this study, 7 pilot-scale CSTR anaerobic digesters were established with the same seed sludge and fed with the same thermal hydrolysis pre-treated sewage sludge, while operating under different conditions. High-throughput quantitative PCR, UPLC-MS/MS and Illumina Hiseq-sequencing were used to systematically evaluate the responses of antibiotics, ARGs, and MGEs in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion (AD) conditions. The results showed that thermal hydrolysis effectively reduced the abundance (>94%) of almost all subtypes of ARGs and MGEs, and it was a powerful technology for reducing tetracyclines, macrolides, and lincosamides. Besides, the abundance of ARGs and MGEs in thermophilic digesters was lower than that in mesophilic digesters, suggesting that thermophilic digesters could be used to avoid the ARGs rebounding. In addition, the thermophilic system further reduced the concentrations of quinolones. For the digesters operated under the mesophilic conditions, a longer hydraulic retention time (HRT) facilitated the removal of antibiotics, ARGs, and MGEs. Furthermore, the microbial community and MGEs had important effects on the persistence and proliferation of ARGs in AD process. The findings of this study provide effective clues for controlling the spread of antibiotic resistance and suggest the optimal operating conditions of digesters. Keywords: Antibiotic, Antibiotic resistance gene, Thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment, Anaerobic digestionhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019322548 |
| spellingShingle | Chenxiang Sun Wei Li Zhan Chen Wentao Qin Xianghua Wen Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions Environment International |
| title | Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| title_full | Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| title_fullStr | Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| title_short | Responses of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| title_sort | responses of antibiotics antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements in sewage sludge to thermal hydrolysis pre treatment and various anaerobic digestion conditions |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019322548 |
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