Antibiotic sulfadiazine degradation by persulfate oxidation: Intermediates dependence of ecotoxicity and the induction of antibiotic resistance genes

Heshan Zheng; Yunfei Zhang; Shuo Li; Xiaochi Feng; Qinglian Wu; Yoong Kit Leong; Jo-Shu Chang

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128306

Antibiotic sulfadiazine degradation by persulfate oxidation: Intermediates dependence of ecotoxicity and the induction of antibiotic resistance genes

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Jan:368:128306. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128306. Epub 2022 Nov 11.

Authors

Heshan Zheng¹, Yunfei Zhang¹, Shuo Li², Xiaochi Feng³, Qinglian Wu⁴, Yoong Kit Leong⁵, Jo-Shu Chang⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China.
² College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China; Urban Water Resources Development and Northern National Engineering Research Center, Harbin 150090, China; School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
³ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
⁴ School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Research Center for Smart Sustainable Circular Economy, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Research Center for Smart Sustainable Circular Economy, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Chung-Li 32003, Taiwan. Electronic address: changjs@mail.ncku.edu.tw.

PMID: 36372382
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128306

Abstract

To preserve the water resources, this study has analyzed the ecotoxicity and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) induction capacity of sulfadiazine degradation intermediates resulting from persulfate activation oxidation enhanced by ultraviolet, ultrasound and microwave. The five degradation pathways caused by the contribution discrepancy of electron transfer and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and variations in the ecotoxicity of different degradation products were analyzed. Microcosm experiment exhibited that the microbial community in actual water changed significantly with SDZ and degradation intermediates, in which the dominant genera were Aeromonas, Cupriavidus, Elizabethkingia and Achromobacter. Except for the selective pressure on bacteria, the degradation intermediates also exert a certain degree or even stronger induction on sulfonamide ARGs (sul4, sul1 and sul2) than SDZ. Furthermore, the potential hosts for sulfonamide ARGs were revealed by network analysis. These results provide a better understanding of antibiotics degradation mechanism and ARGs occurrence, which is useful for controlling the spread of ARGs.

Keywords: Antibiotic; Antibiotic resistance genes; Degradation mechanisms; Ecotoxicity; Metagenomics.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
Genes, Bacterial / genetics
Sulfadiazine* / metabolism
Sulfadiazine* / pharmacology
Sulfonamides

Substances

Sulfadiazine
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Sulfonamides