Microbiome recognition of virulence-factor-governed interfacial mechanisms in antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity removal by functionalized microbubbles

Ming Zhang; Beilei Yu; Qunkai Fang; Jiayuan Liu; Qiaoyun Xia; Kun Ye; Daoyong Zhang; Zhimin Qiang; Xiangliang Pan

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120224

Microbiome recognition of virulence-factor-governed interfacial mechanisms in antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity removal by functionalized microbubbles

Water Res. 2023 Aug 15:242:120224. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120224. Epub 2023 Jun 13.

Authors

Ming Zhang¹, Beilei Yu¹, Qunkai Fang¹, Jiayuan Liu¹, Qiaoyun Xia¹, Kun Ye¹, Daoyong Zhang², Zhimin Qiang³, Xiangliang Pan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
² Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China. Electronic address: zhangdaoyong@zjut.edu.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuang-qing Road, Beijing 100085, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China. Electronic address: panxl@zjut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37352673
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120224

Abstract

The frequent occurrence of epidemics around the world gives rise to increasing concerns of the pollution of pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacteria in water. This study investigated the impacts of virulence factors (VFs) on the removal of antibiotic resistant and pathogenic bacteria from municipal wastewater by ozone-free or ozone-encapsulated Fe(III)-coagulant-modified colloidal microbubbles (O₃_free-CCMBs or O₃-CCMBs). The highly interface-dependent process was initiated with cell-capture on the microbubble surface where the as-collected cells could be further inactivated with the bubble-released ozone and oxidative species if O₃-CCMBs were used. The microbiome sequencing analyses denote that the O₃_free-CCMB performance of antibiotic resistant and pathogenic bacteria removal was dependent on the virulence phenotypes related to cell-surface properties or structures. The adhesion-related VFs facilitated the effective attachment between cells and the coagulant-modified bubble-surface, which further enhanced cell inactivation by bubble-released ozone. On the contrary, the motility-related VFs might help cells to escape from the bubble capture by locomotion; however, this could be overcome by O₃-CCMB-induced oxidative demolition of the movement structures. Besides, the microbubble performance was also impacted with the cell-membrane structure related to antibiotic resistance (i.e., efflux pumps) and the dissolved organic matter through promoting the surface-capture and decreasing the oxidation efficacy. The ozone-encapsulated microbubbles with surface functionalization are robust and promising tools in hampering antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity dissemination from wastewater to surface water environment; and awareness should be raised for the influence of virulence signatures on its performance.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistant bacteria; Functionalized colloidal microbubbles; Microbiome sequencing; Pathogenic bacteria; Virulence factors.