Distribution and driving factors of antibiotic resistance genes in treated wastewater from different types of livestock farms

Tao Chen; Shiyu Zhang; Run Zhu; Minxing Zhao; Yu Zhang; Yan Wang; Xindi Liao; Yinbao Wu; Jiandui Mi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157837

Distribution and driving factors of antibiotic resistance genes in treated wastewater from different types of livestock farms

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 25:849:157837. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157837. Epub 2022 Aug 4.

Authors

Tao Chen¹, Shiyu Zhang¹, Run Zhu¹, Minxing Zhao¹, Yu Zhang¹, Yan Wang², Xindi Liao², Yinbao Wu³, Jiandui Mi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Tropical Agricultural Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Tropical Agricultural Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Harmless Treatment and Resource Utilization of Livestock Waste, Yunfu, Xinxing 527400, China.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Tropical Agricultural Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Harmless Treatment and Resource Utilization of Livestock Waste, Yunfu, Xinxing 527400, China. Electronic address: wuyinbao@scau.edu.cn.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Tropical Agricultural Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Harmless Treatment and Resource Utilization of Livestock Waste, Yunfu, Xinxing 527400, China. Electronic address: mijiandui@163.com.

PMID: 35934031
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157837

Abstract

Treated wastewater from livestock farms is an important reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and is a main source of ARGs in the environment. However, the distribution and driving factors of ARGs in treated wastewater from different types of livestock farms are rarely reported. In this study, treated wastewater from 69 large-scale livestock farms of different types, including broiler, layer, and pig farms, was collected, and 11 subtypes of ARGs, 2 mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial community structure were analyzed. The results revealed detection rates of NDM-1 and mcr-1 of 90 % and 43 %, respectively, and the detection rates of other ARGs were 100 %. The relative abundance of ARGs, such as tetA, tetX and strB, in broiler farms was significantly higher than that in layer farms, but the bacterial α diversity was significantly lower than that in other farm types. Furthermore, although the treatment process had a greater impact on the physicochemical properties of the treated wastewater than the livestock type, livestock type was the main factor affecting the bacterial community in the treated wastewater. The analysis of potential host bacteria of ARGs revealed significant differences in the host bacteria of ARGs in treated wastewater from different types of livestock farms. The host bacteria of ARGs in broiler farms mainly belonged to Actinobacteria, layer farms mainly belonged to Proteobacteria, and pig farms mainly belonged to Firmicutes. Additionally, redundancy analysis showed that the distribution of ARGs may have resulted from the combination of multiple driving factors in different types of livestock farms, among which tnpA and NH₄⁺-N were the main influencing factors. This study revealed multiple driving factors for the distribution of typical ARGs in treated wastewater from different types of livestock farms, providing basic data for the prevention and control of ARG pollution in agricultural environments.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Bacterial community; Cooccurrence; Potential host bacteria; Treated wastewater.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / analysis
Bacteria / genetics
Chickens / genetics
Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
Farms
Genes, Bacterial
Livestock*
Swine
Wastewater* / analysis

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Waste Water