Characterization and evolution of antibiotic resistance of Salmonella in municipal wastewater treatment plants

Chong-Miao Zhang; Li-Mei Xu; Xiao Mou; Huan Xu; Jing Liu; Yan-Hui Miao; Xiaochang C Wang; Xiaochen Li

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109547

Characterization and evolution of antibiotic resistance of Salmonella in municipal wastewater treatment plants

J Environ Manage. 2019 Dec 1:251:109547. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109547. Epub 2019 Sep 17.

Authors

Chong-Miao Zhang¹, Li-Mei Xu², Xiao Mou³, Huan Xu⁴, Jing Liu⁵, Yan-Hui Miao⁴, Xiaochang C Wang⁴, Xiaochen Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Lab of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Engineering Technology Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, Shaanxi Province, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China. Electronic address: cmzhang@xauat.edu.cn.
² Key Lab of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Engineering Technology Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, Shaanxi Province, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, 271018, China. Electronic address: Xulimei@sdau.edu.cn.
³ Shaanxi Institute for Food and Drug Control, Xi'an, 710065, China.
⁴ Key Lab of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Engineering Technology Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, Shaanxi Province, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China.
⁵ Key Lab of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Engineering Technology Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, Shaanxi Province, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; School of Civil Engineering, Yulin University, Yulin, 719000, China.
⁶ College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, 271018, China.

PMID: 31539702
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109547

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the evolution of antibiotic resistance phenotypes, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and Class 1 integron of Salmonella in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A total of 221 Salmonella strains were isolated from different stages of three WWTPs. After the susceptibility testing, high frequency of resistance was observed for tetracycline (TET, 47.5% of isolates) and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ, 38.5%), followed by ampicillin (AMP, 25.3%), streptomycin (STP, 17.6%), chloramphenicol (CHL, 15.4%), and gentamicin (GEN, 11.3%). Low prevalence of resistance was detected for norfloxacin (0.45%), ciprofloxacin (0.9%), and cefotaxime (0.9%). The tetA and sul3 genes were most frequently detected among the Salmonella isolates. Statistically significant correlations among AMP, CHL, GEN, and STP resistances were observed. High detection frequencies of Class 1 integron were observed in double antibiotic-resistant and multiple-antibiotic-resistant (MAR) Salmonella, which were 94.3% and 85.7%, respectively. The proliferation of MAR Salmonella and transfer of ARGs occurred in WWTPs. Class 1 integron plays a crucial role in the evolution of MAR Salmonella during WWTPs.

Keywords: ARGs; Antibiotic resistance; Class 1 integron; Municipal wastewater treatment plants; Salmonella.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
Integrons
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Salmonella
Wastewater*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Waste Water