A global perspective on microbial risk factors in effluents of wastewater treatment plants.

NATIONAL Center for Biotechnology Information (U.S.); SEWAGE disposal plants; ACINETOBACTER baumannii; BACTEROIDES fragilis; MULTIDRUG resistance; DRUG resistance in bacteria; ESCHERICHIA coli

• Multidrug resistance was the predominant type of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in WWTP effluents worldwide. • Offensive virulence factors were found to be the most abundant type of virulence-associated genes (VFGs) in WWTP effluents globally. • Both plasmids and phages carried aminoglycoside resistance genes as the dominant type of ARGs in WWTP effluents worldwide. • Acinetobacter baumannii was identified as the most prevalent pathogen in WWTP effluents globally, surpassing Escherichia coli in abundance. • There was no positive correlation observed between Escherichia coli and the two most prevalent pathogens in WWTP effluents globally. Effective monitoring and management of microbial risk factors in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) effluents require a comprehensive investigation of these risks. A global survey on microbial risk factors in WWTP effluents could reveal important insights into their risk features. This study aims to explore the abundance and types of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), virulence factor genes (VFGs), the vector of ARG/VFG, and dominant pathogens in global WWTP effluents. We collected 113 metagenomes of WWTP effluents from the Sequence Read Archive of the National Center for Biotechnology Information and characterized the microbial risk factors. Our results showed that multidrug resistance was the dominant ARG type, while offensive virulence factors were the most abundant type of VFGs. The most dominant types of ARGs in the vector of plasmid and phage were both aminoglycoside resistance, which is concerning as aminoglycosides are often a last resort for treating multi-resistant infections. Acinetobacter baumannii was the most dominant pathogen, rather than Escherichia coli , and a weak negative correlation between Escherichia coli and two other dominant pathogens (Acinetobacter baumannii and Bacteroides uniformis) suggests that using Escherichia coli as a biological indicator for all pathogens in WWTP effluents may not be appropriate. The Getah virus was the most dominant virus found in global WWTP effluents. Our study presents a comprehensive global-scale investigation of microbial risk factors in WWTP effluents, providing valuable insights into the potential risks associated with WWTP effluents and contributing to the monitoring and control of these risks. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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