The Effect of Antibiotics on Consortium Structure in Effluent and Sludge from a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

The distribution and diversity of antibiotic-resistance bacteria (ARB) from the excess sludge and effluent of Kaifeng wastewater treatment plant was studied using a culture-dependent method. In comparison with other phylum, microbial community analysis confirmed Proteobacteria was more susceptible to possess the ability to tolerate antibiotic pressure. With the addition of antibiotics from single erythromycin to three antibiotics, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased to 92.98%, 94.35%, 95.74% in water sample and 84.33%, 90.99%, 90.84% in sludge samples. Acinetobacter in Proteobacteria has stronger antibiotic resistance. This research identified that in the process of sewage treatment, attention should be paid to the removal of species in Proteobacteria to avoid potential resistance gene contamination in the receiving environments.