Industrialization as a source of heavy metals and antibiotics which can enhance the antibiotic resistance in wastewater, sewage sludge and river water

Abstract

The spread of antibiotic resistance is closely related with selective pressure in the environment. Wastewater from industrialized regions is characterized by higher concentrations of these pollutants than sewage from less industrialized areas. The aim of this study was to compare the concentrations of contaminants such as antibiotics and heavy metals (HMs), and to evaluate their impact on the spread of genes encoding resistance to antimicrobial drugs in samples of wastewater, sewage sludge and river water in two regions with different levels of industrialization. The factors exerting selective pressure, which significantly contributed to the occurrence of the examined antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), were identified. The concentrations of selected gene copy numbers conferring resistance to four groups of antibiotics as well as class 1 and 2 integron-integrase genes were determined in the analyzed samples. The concentrations of six HMs and antibiotics corresponding to genes mediated resistance from 3 classes were determined. Based on network analysis, only some of the analyzed antibiotics correlated with ARGs, while HM levels were correlated with ARG concentrations, which can confirm the important role of HMs in promoting drug resistance. The samples from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located an industrialized region were characterized by higher HM contamination and a higher number of significant correlations between the analyzed variables than the samples collected from a WWTP located in a less industrialized region. These results indicated that treated wastewater released into the natural environment can pose a continuous threat to human health by transferring ARGs, antibiotics and HMs to the environment. These findings shed light on the impact of industrialization on antibiotic resistance dissemination.

Population analysis of heavy metal and biocide resistance genes in Salmonella enterica from human clinical cases in New Hampshire, United States

“…Other rare metals such as gold have been used recently in medical diagnostics or imaging and as anti-arthritis and cancer therapeutics ( Hobman and Crossman, 2015 ). Metals are also present in many consumer products, from clothing to computer keyboards, and in industrial emissions and fossil fuels combustion ( Vareda et al, 2019 ; Hubeny et al, 2021 ).…”

Photocatalytic Degradation of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics in Solution

“…Antibiotics have become emerging pollutants due to their widespread use and persistence in the environment [1][2][3]. The origin is very varied, although they come mainly from medical treatments, agricultural, livestock and industrial production [4][5][6][7]. The presence of antibiotics in the natural environment represents a serious health risk, since they can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistance bacteria and, in general, promote the destabilization of the natural environment [8][9].…”

Proteomic Perspective of Cadmium Tolerance in Providencia rettgeri Strain KDM3 and Its In-situ Bioremediation Potential in Rice Ecosystem

“…Heavy metals are metallic elements with relatively high densities and are toxic at low concentrations. Historically, anthropogenic activities such as ore mining and industrialization are directly associated with environmental pollution with heavy metals worldwide (Ozaki et al, 2019 ; Hubeny et al, 2021 ). Since the heavy metals are naturally present in the earth's crust, they cannot be destroyed or degraded, but can only be transformed into a less toxic form (González Henao and Ghneim-Herrera, 2021 ).…”