Electrochemical flow-through disinfection reduces antibiotic resistance genes and horizontal transfer risk across bacterial species

Zhang, Cong; Zhao, Xin; Wang, Can; Hakizimana, Israel; Crittenden, John C.; Laghari, Azhar Ali

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2022.118090

Cited by 65 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…90 In addition, the length and base composition of ARGs also influence ARG elimination. 92 Similar with ClO 2 , a weak positive correlation (R 2 = 0.93) was observed between the fluence-based first-order rate constants and base pair contents. 55 A stronger correlation was observed between the fluence-based first-order rate constants and the number of 5′-TT-3′, as 5′-TT-3′ was more susceptible to UV than 5′-CC-3′, 5′-CT-3′, and 5′-TC-3′.…”

Section: Chlorine Dioxidementioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, the presence of chromophoric DOM increased the degradation rate constants of eARGs by 1.2 times in UV, probably due to the reactive species formed from chromophoric DOM . In addition, the length and base composition of ARGs also influence ARG elimination . Similar with ClO 2 , a weak positive correlation ( R 2 = 0.93) was observed between the fluence-based first-order rate constants and base pair contents .…”

Section: Elimination Efficiencies Of Iargs and Eargsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elimination and Redistribution of Intracellular and Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Water and Wastewater Disinfection Processes: A Review

Liu

et al. 2022

ACS EST Water

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Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been identified as emerging contaminants in water and wastewater. Concerns have been raised of whether disinfection processes can effectively eliminate ARGs and thus mitigate their spread. Due to the different existing forms and dissemination pathways, intracellular ARGs (iARGs) and extracellular ARGs (eARGs) have different responses to disinfection processes. This review compares the elimination of iARGs and eARGs in representative disinfection processes applied at water and wastewater treatment plants, including treatment by chlorine, chloramine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, ultraviolet irradiation (UV), and combination of UV with chemicals. Meanwhile, the redistribution of ARGs upon disinfection processes is highlighted. Elimination efficiencies of ARGs generally follow the order: ozone > chlorine ≫ chlorine dioxide > chloramine. The elimination of naked eARGs could be up to 4-log higher than that of iARGs. Notably, these disinfectants and the resulting disinfection byproducts formed in disinfection process can select antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and increase relative abundances of iARGs. Under practical disinfectant exposure, elevated abundances of eARGs may be observed. Low doses of chlorine and chloramine tend to enhance the transfer of ARGs from intracellular to extracellular forms. To selectively control ARGs and associated risks and meanwhile minimize the unintended consequences, the disinfection practice may warrant optimization.

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Section: Chlorine Dioxidementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Elimination Efficiencies Of Iargs and Eargsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elimination and Redistribution of Intracellular and Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Water and Wastewater Disinfection Processes: A Review

Liu

et al. 2022

ACS EST Water

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“…The ARB and i-ARG removal by the NWs-FES increased significantly with the increase of applied voltage or decrease of flux (Figures 2 and S3), which was consistent with the findings from previous work. 26,27 Notably, the i-ARGs were much more recalcitrant than the ARB to the FES treatment due to the protective roles of cellular components, but the NWs-FES exhibited much higher efficiencies in the removal of ARB and ARG than the Film-FES. For instance, as compared with the above 6.7 log ARB removal (undetectable live ARB in effluent) and ∼0.5 log ARG removal by Film-FES at 3.5 V and 1000 L/m 2 /h, the NWs-FES achieved above 6.7 log ARB removal and ∼1.5 log ARG removal at only 2.75 V. The energy consumption by NWs-FES (20−60 W h/m 3 /log) was ∼6−9 times lower than that by Film-FES (200−350 W h/m 3 /log) (Figure S4).…”

Section: Characterization Of Comentioning

confidence: 99%

Lightning-Rod Effect on Nanowire Tips Reinforces Electroporation and Electrochemical Oxidation: An Efficient Strategy for Eliminating Intracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Liu

Huang

et al. 2023

ACS Nano

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Conventional oxidative disinfection methods are usually inefficient to eliminate intracellular antibiotic resistance genes (i-ARGs) due to competitive oxidation of cellular components of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), resulting in the ubiquitous occurrence of ARGs in drinking water systems. Herein, we developed the strategy of coupling electroporation and electrochemical oxidation on a Co 3 O 4 -nanowires-modified electrode to destroy the multiresistant Escherichia coli cells and promote subsequent i-ARG (bla TEM-1 and aac(3)-II) degradation. The lightning-rod effect over nanowire tips can form finite regions with a locally enhanced electric field and highly concentrated charge density, in turn facilitating the electroporation for ARB cell damage and electrochemical reactivity for reactive chlorine/oxygen species generation. Characterization of the ARB membrane integrity and morphology revealed that electroporation-induced cell pores were further enlarged by the oxidation of reactive species, resulting in i-ARG removal at lower applied voltages and with 6−9 times lower energy consumption than the conventional electrochemical oxidation approach with a Co 3 O 4 -film-modified electrode. The satisfactory application and effective inhibition of horizontal gene transfer in tap water further demonstrated the great potential of our strategy in the control of the ARG dissemination risk in drinking water systems.

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“…To address this rising challenge, the fate of ARGs in engineered and natural systems has been interrogated, [8][9][10][11][12][13] and remediation methods have been developed. [14][15][16] Most of the current methods remove ARGs as biomolecules based on the physiochemistry of DNAs. 14 Yet, a fragment of DNA molecule is considered an ARG due to the sequence, which encodes proteins that confer resistance to the corresponding antibiotics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It, unfortunately, seems inevitable as the ARGs may be required and accumulate for the removal of antibiotics in the wastewater from pharmaceutical industries, hospitals, or even municipal sewerage systems, leading to a dilemma in addressing ARG problems. To tackle this challenge, environmental scientists have interrogated the fate of ARGs in engineered and natural systems (9)(10)(11)(12), and have been developing remediation methods (13)(14)(15). For current environmental applications, most of the methods remove ARGs as biomolecules based on the physiochemistry of DNAs (13).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring CRISPR-Cas Immunity for the Degradation of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Bao

Yan

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The evolution and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are prompting severe health and environmental issues. While wastewater treatment processes are key barriers preventing the spread of ARGs, they are often sources of ARGs at the same time. An upgrading of wastewater treatment processes is imperative and urgent. ARGs confer antibiotic resistance based on the DNA sequences rather than the chemistry of DNA molecules. An ARG can be considered being degraded if its sequence was disrupted. Therefore, we present here that CRISPR-Cas immunity, an archaeal and bacterial immune system for eliminating invading foreign DNAs, can be repurposed and tailored for the degradation of ARGs. By engineering artificial IncP machinery, the designed system, namely VADER, can be successfully delivered via bacterial conjugation. Finally, we propose a new sector for ARG degradation to be implemented in wastewater treatment frameworks. In this endeavor, a prototype conjugation reactor was devised and demonstrated as the bridge connecting synthetic CRISPR-Cas immunity with wastewater treatment processes. By generating a win-win situation at the nexus of synthetic biology and environmental biotechnology, we believe that our work is not only an enterprise for tackling ARG problems but also a potential solution for managing undesired genetic materials in general in the future.

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Electrochemical flow-through disinfection reduces antibiotic resistance genes and horizontal transfer risk across bacterial species

Cited by 65 publications

References 67 publications

Elimination and Redistribution of Intracellular and Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Water and Wastewater Disinfection Processes: A Review

Elimination and Redistribution of Intracellular and Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Water and Wastewater Disinfection Processes: A Review

Lightning-Rod Effect on Nanowire Tips Reinforces Electroporation and Electrochemical Oxidation: An Efficient Strategy for Eliminating Intracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Tailoring CRISPR-Cas Immunity for the Degradation of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

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