Exploring abundance, diversity and variation of a widespread antibiotic resistance gene in wastewater treatment plants. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wei, Ziyan; Feng, Kai; Li, Shuzhen; Zhang, Yu; Chen, Hongrui; Yin, Huaqun; Xu, Meiying; Deng, Ye
• Is Part Of: Environment international. Volume 117(2018)
• Page Start: 186
• Page End: 195
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: 16S rRNA -- sul1 -- Degenerate primer design -- Quantitative PCR -- MiSeq sequencing; Environmental protection -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental Monitoring -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Protection -- Périodiques; Hygiène du milieu -- Périodiques; Environnement -- Surveillance -- Périodiques; Environmental health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection; Periodicals; 333.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.009
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-4120

Abstract

Abstract: An updated sul1 gene sequence database was constructed and new degenerate primers were designed to better investigate the abundance, diversity, and variation of a ubiquitous antibiotic resistance gene, sul1, with PCR-based methods in activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The newly designed degenerate primers showed high specificity and higher coverage in both in-silico evaluations and activated sludge samples compared to previous sul1 primers. Using the new primers, the abundance and diversity of sul1 gene, together with 16S rRNA gene, in activated sludge from five WWTPs in summer and winter were determined by quantitative PCR and MiSeq sequencing. The sul1 gene was found to be prevalent and displayed a comparable abundance (0.081 copies per bacterial cell in average) to the total bacteria across all samples. However, compared to the significant seasonal and geographical divergences in the quantity and diversity of bacterial communities in WWTPs, there were no significant seasonal or geographical variations of representative clusters of sul1 gene in most cases. Additionally, the representative sul1 clusters showed fairly close phylogeny and there was no obvious correlation between sul1 gene and the dominant bacterial genera, as well as the int1 gene, suggesting that bacterial hosts of sul1 gene is not stable, the sul1 gene may be carried by mobile genetic elements, sometimes integrated with class 1 integrons and sometimes not. Thus mobile genetic elements likely play a greater role than specific microbial taxa in determining the composition of sul1 gene in WWTPs. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image Highlights: The newly designed degenerate primers of sul1 gene exhibited high efficiency. In activated sludge samples, sul1 gene was prevalent with high abundance. The distribution and phylogeny of sul1 gene is highly similar across all samples. Mobile genetic elements mostly shift the composition of sul1 gene in WWTPs.