Seasonal hydrological dynamics govern lifestyle preference of aquatic antibiotic resistome

Bob Adyari; Liyuan Hou; Lanping Zhang; Nengwang Chen; Feng Ju; Longji Zhu; Chang-Ping Yu; Anyi Hu

doi:10.1016/j.ese.2022.100223

Seasonal hydrological dynamics govern lifestyle preference of aquatic antibiotic resistome

Environ Sci Ecotechnol. 2022 Nov 15:13:100223. doi: 10.1016/j.ese.2022.100223. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Bob Adyari^{1

2

3

4}, Liyuan Hou⁵, Lanping Zhang^{1

2

3}, Nengwang Chen⁶, Feng Ju⁷, Longji Zhu⁸, Chang-Ping Yu¹, Anyi Hu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China.
⁴ Department of Environmental Engineering, Universitas Pertamina, Jakarta, 12220, Indonesia.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, UT, 84322, USA.
⁶ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310024, China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are a well-known environmental concern. Yet, limited knowledge exists on the fate and transport of ARGs in deep freshwater reservoirs experiencing seasonal hydrological changes, especially in the context of particle-attached (PA) and free-living (FL) lifestyles. Here, the ARG profiles were examined using high-throughput quantitative PCR in PA and FL lifestyles during four seasons representing two hydrological phenomena (vertical mixing and thermal stratification) in the Shuikou Reservoir (SR), Southern China. The results indicated that seasonal hydrological dynamics were critical for influencing the ARGs in PA and FL and the transition of ARGs between the two lifestyles. ARG profiles both in PA and FL were likely to be shaped by horizontal gene transfer. However, they exhibited distinct responses to the physicochemical (e.g., nutrients and dissolved oxygen) changes under seasonal hydrological dynamics. The particle-association niche (PAN) index revealed 94 non-conservative ARGs (i.e., no preferences for PA and FL) and 23 and 16 conservative ARGs preferring PA and FL lifestyles, respectively. A sharp decline in conservative ARGs under stratified hydrologic suggested seasonal influence on the ARGs transition between PA and FL lifestyles. Remarkably, the conservative ARGs (in PA or FL lifestyle) were more closely related to bacterial OTUs in their preferred lifestyle than their counterparts, indicating lifestyle-dependent ARG enrichment. Altogether, these findings enhanced our understanding of the ARG lifestyles and the role of seasonal hydrological changes in governing the ARG transition between the lifestyles in a typical deep freshwater ecosystem.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Deep freshwater reservoir; Free-living; Particle-attached; Vertical mixing and stratification.