Bacterial Communities and Antibiotic Resistance Communities in a Full-Scale Hospital Wastewater Treatment Plant by High-Throughput Pyrosequencing

Youngho Ahn,Jeongdong Choi

doi:10.3390/w8120580

Youngho Ahn, Jeongdong Choi

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w8120580

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Abstract

The community of whole microbes and antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) in hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) receiving domestic wastewater (DWW) and hospital wastewater (HWW) was investigated. Samples from an influent of a secondary clarifier, at each treatment train, were characterized for the whole microbial community and ARB on the antibiotic resistance database, based on high-throughput pyrosequencing. The pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the abundance of Bacteroidetes in the DWW sample was higher (~1.6 times) than in the HWW sample, whereas the abundance of Proteobacteria in the HWW sample was greater than in the DWW sample. At the top twenty of the genus level, distinct genera were observed—Saprospiraceae in the DWW and Zoogloea in the HWW. Apart from the top twenty genera, minor genera showed various antibiotic resistance types based on the antibiotic resistance gene database.

Highlights

The overuse of antibiotics in medical fields and agricultural processes resulted in a large portion of antibiotic release in water environments, which increases antibiotic resistance genes
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered as hot spots for widespread antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) or antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) because residual antibiotics and bacteria that are exposed to antibiotics are released into sewage [7]
In the biological treatment process of WWTPs, the levels of ARB/ARG can be accelerated due to the selective pressure caused by antibiotics [8]

Summary

Introduction

The overuse of antibiotics in medical fields and agricultural processes resulted in a large portion of antibiotic release in water environments, which increases antibiotic resistance genes. This resistance can affect public health because pathogenic infection is not treated by certain antibiotics [1]. The diversity and abundance of ARB were reported in drinking water, activated sludge, anaerobic sludge and agricultural waste [11,12,13] These reports indicated that WWTPs are sources of ARB/ARG in receiving water, which may significantly affect human and animal health

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