Activated sludge plasmid metagenome
Plasmid metagenome reveals high levels of antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements in activated sludge
We used the culture-independent transposon aided capture system to isolate novel plasmids from microbial communities in activated sludge of Shantin Sewage Treatment Plant of Hong Kong, China. Subsequently, high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic analyses were employed to investigate the diversity and relative abundances of antibiotic resistance genes, virulent factors, as well as mobile genetic elements including plasmids, integrons and transposons.
The overuse or misuse of antibiotics has accelerated antibiotic resistance, creating a major challenge for the public health in the world. Sewage treatment plants are considered as important reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes and activated sludge characterized with high microbial density and diversity facilitates ARG horizontal gene transfer (HGT) via mobile genetic elements. In this study, the culture-independent transposon aided capture system was employed to isolate novel plasmids from activated sludge of Shatin Sewage Treatment Plant (Hong Kong, China). We also used Illumina Hiseq 2000 high-throughput sequencing and metagenomics analysis to investigate the plasmid metagenome.