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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
Microbial community and antimicrobial resistance niche differentiation in a multistage, surface flow constructed
Franciszek Bydalek1, Gordon Webster2, Ruth Barden3
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC), University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; GW4 NERC CDT in Freshwater Biosciences and Sustainability, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK; Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Microbiomes, Microbes and Informatics Group, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
Abstract:
Free-living (FL) and particulate-associated (PA) communities are distinct bacterioplankton lifestyles with different mobility and dissemination routes. Understanding spatio-temporal dynamics of PA and FL fractions will allow improvement to wastewater treatment processes including pathogen and AMR bacteria removal. In this study, PA, FL and sediment community composition and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG; tetW, ermB, sul1, intI1) dynamics were investigated in a full-scale municipal wastewater free-water surface polishing constructed wetland. Taxonomic composition of PA and FL microbial communities shifted towards less diverse communities (Shannon, Chao1) at the CW effluent but retained a distinct fraction-specific composition. Wastewater treatment plant derived PA communities introduced the bulk of AMR load (70 %) into the CW. However, the FL fraction was responsible for exporting over 60 % of the effluent AMR load given its high mobility and the effective immobilization (1-3 log removal) of PA communities. Strong correlations (r2>0.8, p < 0.05) were observed between the FL fraction, tetW and emrB dynamics, and amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of potentially pathogenic taxa, including Bacteroides, Enterobacteriaceae, Aeromonadaceae, and Lachnospiraceae. This study reveals niche differentiation of microbial communities and associated AMR in CWs and shows that free-living bacteria are a primary escape route of pathogenic and ARG load from CWs under low-flow hydraulic conditions.
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