Structure and function response of bacterial communities towards antibiotic contamination in hyporheic zone sediments

Lili Zhang; Antai Zhang; Yitong Yang; Cheng Zhang; Keting Lian; Chongxuan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136606

Structure and function response of bacterial communities towards antibiotic contamination in hyporheic zone sediments

Chemosphere. 2022 Dec;309(Pt 1):136606. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136606. Epub 2022 Sep 26.

Authors

Lili Zhang¹, Antai Zhang², Yitong Yang², Cheng Zhang², Keting Lian², Chongxuan Liu³

Affiliations

¹ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecological Remediation, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
² State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
³ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. Electronic address: liucx@sustech.edu.cn.

PMID: 36174729
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136606

Abstract

Bacterial communities are crucial for processing and degrading contaminants in hyporheic zones (HZ). However, the effects of antibiotics on HZ bacterial communities have seldom been addressed. Here, using MiSeq 16S amplicon sequencing technology, the effects of acute exposure to Enrofloxacin, Sulfathiazole, Tetracycline hydrochloride, and Penicillin V potassium on HZ bacterial communities were investigated. Results revealed that HZ sediment communities responded differently to different classes of antibiotics, reflecting the distinct selection stress of antibiotics on HZ bacterial communities. Besides, HZ communities from the locations with more severe antibiotic contamination backgrounds (∼150 μg kg^-1) were more resistant towards antibiotic treatment. Compared with small/non-significant changes in HZ community diversity and composition treated with ng L^-1∼ug L^-1 level antibiotics compared to the control group, treatments with antibiotics over mg L^-1 level significantly reduced the diversity and changed the structures of HZ bacterial communities, and enhanced the resistance of the community to antibiotics by enriching antibiotic resistant bacteria. The exposure to mg L^-1 level antibiotics also changed community functions by restricting the growth of functional bacteria, such as ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) Nitrosomonas, resulting in ammonia accumulation in sediments. The results implied that at field-relevant concentrations, there was no or minor effect of antibiotics on HZ bacterial community structure and functions, and only those areas with high antibiotic concentrations would have effects.

Keywords: Antibiotic contamination; Antibiotic resistance genes; Bacterial community function; Hyporheic zone; Nitrification.

MeSH terms

Ammonia* / chemistry
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
Bacteria
Enrofloxacin
Geologic Sediments / microbiology
Penicillin V
Sulfathiazoles
Tetracycline

Substances

Ammonia
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Tetracycline
Penicillin V
Enrofloxacin
Sulfathiazoles