title: Effects of full-scale advanced water treatment on antibiotic resistance genes in the Yangtze Delta area in China.
abstract: As emerging microbial contaminants, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are widespread in the aquatic environment, including source water, which might enter water supply systems and endanger public health by enhancing the resistance of opportunistic pathogens to some antibiotics. In the present study, we investigated how water treatments affect the levels of ARGs in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant for one year using real-time PCR. The 16s rRNA gene and eleven ARG families, including tetA, tetG, aacC1, strA, ermB, cmlA5, vanA, dfrA1, sulII, blaTEM-1 and blaoxa-1, in source water and the outlet of each treatment and tap water were monitored. The results showed that nine ARG families were detected at relatively high levels, for example, the sulII gene was detected at ∼10(4) copies mL(-1) compared with 10(5) copies mL(-1) in finished water and tap water in July, whose relative concentrations were consistently high. Treatments for the reduction of the absolute concentrations of ARGs included sand filtration, coagulation/sedimentation and two-stage O3-BAC filtration, while distribution could increase ARGs an average of 0.50 log.
authors.affiliation: Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, the Eleventh Street, Tiexi Area, Shenyang 110142, China.
authors.forename: Shuting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Safe Drinking Water and Related Microbiology, Institute of Urban Environment, China Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Wenfang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Safe Drinking Water and Related Microbiology, Institute of Urban Environment, China Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China xyu@iue.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: ARGs; antibiotic resistance; drinking water treatment; real-time PCR