title: Graphene Oxide Inhibits Antibiotic Uptake and Antibiotic Resistance Gene Propagation.
abstract: Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the natural environment have become substantial threats to the ecosystem and public health. Effective strategies to control antibiotics and ARG contaminations are emergent. A novel carbon nanomaterial, graphene oxide (GO), has attracted a substantial amount of attention in environmental fields. This study discovered the inhibition effects of GO on sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) uptake for bacteria and ARG transfer among microorganisms. GO promoted the penetration of SMZ from intracellular to extracellular environments by increasing the cell membrane permeability. In addition, the formation of a GO-SMZ complex reduced the uptake of SMZ in bacteria. Moreover, GO decreased the abundance of the sulI and intI genes by approximately 2-3 orders of magnitude, but the global bacterial activity was not obviously inhibited. A class I integron transfer experiment showed that the transfer frequency was up to 55-fold higher in the control than that of the GO-treated groups. Genetic methylation levels were not significant while sulI gene replication was inhibited. The biological properties of ARGs were altered due to the GO-ARG noncovalent combination, which was confirmed using multiple spectral analyses. This work suggests that GO can potentially be applied for controlling ARG contamination via inhibiting antibiotic uptake and ARG propagation.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Xiaokang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Ziyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Xingli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Xiangang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Qixing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000421:Alcaligenes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D006108:Graphite / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010087:Oxides / Q000494:pharmacology; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole
keywords: antibiotic resistance genes; graphene oxide; nanotechnology; pollution control; sulfamethoxazole