Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have accelerated the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, significantly impacting human, animal, and environmental health. As aquatic environments are vulnerable to antibiotic resistance, suitable management practices should be adopted to tackle this phen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424000590 |
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| author | Lluís Bertrans-Tubau Sergio Martínez-Campos Julio Lopez-Doval Meritxell Abril Sergio Ponsá Victoria Salvadó Manuela Hidalgo Anna Pico-Tomàs Jose Luis Balcazar Lorenzo Proia |
| author_facet | Lluís Bertrans-Tubau Sergio Martínez-Campos Julio Lopez-Doval Meritxell Abril Sergio Ponsá Victoria Salvadó Manuela Hidalgo Anna Pico-Tomàs Jose Luis Balcazar Lorenzo Proia |
| author_sort | Lluís Bertrans-Tubau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have accelerated the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, significantly impacting human, animal, and environmental health. As aquatic environments are vulnerable to antibiotic resistance, suitable management practices should be adopted to tackle this phenomenon. Here we show an effective, nature-based solution for reducing antibiotic resistance from actual wastewater. We utilize a bioreactor that relies on benthic (biofilms) and planktonic microbial communities to treat secondary effluent from a small urban wastewater treatment plant (<10,000 population equivalent). This treated effluent is eventually released into the local aquatic ecosystem. We observe high removal efficiency for genes that provide resistance to commonly used antibiotic families, as well as for mobile genetic elements that could potentially aid in their spread. Importantly, we notice a buildup of sulfonamide (sul1 and sul2) and tetracycline (tet(C), tet(G), and tetR) resistance genes specifically in biofilms. This advancement marks the initial step in considering this bioreactor as a nature-based, cost-effective tertiary treatment option for small UWWTPs facing antibiotic resistance challenges. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c34799d52f5d4f4b9f983a2d1ac06c2d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-4984 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c34799d52f5d4f4b9f983a2d1ac06c2d2024-11-15T06:15:12ZengElsevierEnvironmental Science and Ecotechnology2666-49842024-11-0122100445Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatmentLluís Bertrans-Tubau0Sergio Martínez-Campos1Julio Lopez-Doval2Meritxell Abril3Sergio Ponsá4Victoria Salvadó5Manuela Hidalgo6Anna Pico-Tomàs7Jose Luis Balcazar8Lorenzo Proia9BETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, SpainBETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, SpainBETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, SpainBETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, SpainBETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, SpainChemistry Department, University of Girona. Campus Montilivi, 17005, Girona, SpainChemistry Department, University of Girona. Campus Montilivi, 17005, Girona, SpainCatalan Institute Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), Emili Grahit 101, 17003, Girona, SpainCatalan Institute Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), Emili Grahit 101, 17003, Girona, Spain; University of Girona, 17004, Girona, SpainBETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Carretera de Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Barcelona, Spain; Corresponding author.The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have accelerated the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, significantly impacting human, animal, and environmental health. As aquatic environments are vulnerable to antibiotic resistance, suitable management practices should be adopted to tackle this phenomenon. Here we show an effective, nature-based solution for reducing antibiotic resistance from actual wastewater. We utilize a bioreactor that relies on benthic (biofilms) and planktonic microbial communities to treat secondary effluent from a small urban wastewater treatment plant (<10,000 population equivalent). This treated effluent is eventually released into the local aquatic ecosystem. We observe high removal efficiency for genes that provide resistance to commonly used antibiotic families, as well as for mobile genetic elements that could potentially aid in their spread. Importantly, we notice a buildup of sulfonamide (sul1 and sul2) and tetracycline (tet(C), tet(G), and tetR) resistance genes specifically in biofilms. This advancement marks the initial step in considering this bioreactor as a nature-based, cost-effective tertiary treatment option for small UWWTPs facing antibiotic resistance challenges.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424000590ARGsMGEsUWWTPsNBSBiofilms |
| spellingShingle | Lluís Bertrans-Tubau Sergio Martínez-Campos Julio Lopez-Doval Meritxell Abril Sergio Ponsá Victoria Salvadó Manuela Hidalgo Anna Pico-Tomàs Jose Luis Balcazar Lorenzo Proia Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment Environmental Science and Ecotechnology ARGs MGEs UWWTPs NBS Biofilms |
| title | Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| title_full | Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| title_fullStr | Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| title_short | Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| title_sort | nature based bioreactors tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment |
| topic | ARGs MGEs UWWTPs NBS Biofilms |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424000590 |
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