The Composition and Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in 19 Wastewater Treatment Plants
Abstract
Bacterial pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance are of concern for environmental safety and public health. Accumulating evidence suggests that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are as an important sink and source of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Virulence genes (encoding virulence factors) are good indicators for bacterial pathogenic potentials. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of bacterial pathogenic potentials and antibiotic resistance in WWTPs, bacterial virulence genes and ARGs in 19 WWTPs covering a majority of latitudinal zones of China were surveyed by using GeoChip 4.2. A total of 1610 genes covering 13 virulence factors and 1903 genes belonging to 11 ARG families were detected respectively. The bacterial virulence genes exhibited significant spatial distribution patterns of a latitudinal biodiversity gradient and a distance-decay relationship across China. Moreover, virulence genes tended to coexist with ARGs as shown by their strongly positive associations. In addition, key environmental factors shaping the overall virulence gene structure were identified. This study profiles the occurrence, composition and distribution of virulence genes and ARGs in current WWTPs in China, and uncovers spatial patterns and important environmental variables shaping their structure, which may provide the basis for further studies of bacterial virulence factors and antibiotic resistance in WWTPs.
- Authors:
-
- Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). School of Environment. Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key
- Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). School of Environment. Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key; Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Dept. of Microbiology and Plant Biology and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Sciences Division; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China).
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences. State Key Lab. of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1627807
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- PLoS ONE
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 11; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 1932-6203
- Publisher:
- Public Library of Science
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Science & Technology - Other Topics
Citation Formats
Zhang, Bing, Xia, Yu, Wen, Xianghua, Wang, Xiaohui, Yang, Yunfeng, Zhou, Jizhong, and Zhang, Yu. The Composition and Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in 19 Wastewater Treatment Plants. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167422.
Zhang, Bing, Xia, Yu, Wen, Xianghua, Wang, Xiaohui, Yang, Yunfeng, Zhou, Jizhong, & Zhang, Yu. The Composition and Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in 19 Wastewater Treatment Plants. United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167422
Zhang, Bing, Xia, Yu, Wen, Xianghua, Wang, Xiaohui, Yang, Yunfeng, Zhou, Jizhong, and Zhang, Yu. Thu .
"The Composition and Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in 19 Wastewater Treatment Plants". United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167422. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1627807.
@article{osti_1627807,
title = {The Composition and Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in 19 Wastewater Treatment Plants},
author = {Zhang, Bing and Xia, Yu and Wen, Xianghua and Wang, Xiaohui and Yang, Yunfeng and Zhou, Jizhong and Zhang, Yu},
abstractNote = {Bacterial pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance are of concern for environmental safety and public health. Accumulating evidence suggests that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are as an important sink and source of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Virulence genes (encoding virulence factors) are good indicators for bacterial pathogenic potentials. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of bacterial pathogenic potentials and antibiotic resistance in WWTPs, bacterial virulence genes and ARGs in 19 WWTPs covering a majority of latitudinal zones of China were surveyed by using GeoChip 4.2. A total of 1610 genes covering 13 virulence factors and 1903 genes belonging to 11 ARG families were detected respectively. The bacterial virulence genes exhibited significant spatial distribution patterns of a latitudinal biodiversity gradient and a distance-decay relationship across China. Moreover, virulence genes tended to coexist with ARGs as shown by their strongly positive associations. In addition, key environmental factors shaping the overall virulence gene structure were identified. This study profiles the occurrence, composition and distribution of virulence genes and ARGs in current WWTPs in China, and uncovers spatial patterns and important environmental variables shaping their structure, which may provide the basis for further studies of bacterial virulence factors and antibiotic resistance in WWTPs.},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0167422},
journal = {PLoS ONE},
number = 12,
volume = 11,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}
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Table 1: Characteristics of 19 geographically distributed wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
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