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Carbon sources shape activated sludge resistome through direct carbon-assimilating bacteria
Xiujing Wu1, Min Xu1, Wenbo Chai1
1State Key Laboratory of Soil Pollution Control and Safety, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|April 7, 2026
Summary
Glucose in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) significantly increases antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundance and evolution compared to acetate. Managing carbon sources is crucial for controlling both pollutant removal and antibiotic resistance.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Wastewater treatment technologies
- Antimicrobial resistance
Background:
- Carbon sources are key drivers of microbial community structure and function in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
- The impact of different carbon sources on the evolution of antibiotic resistance, particularly at the species and community levels, is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how glucose and acetate influence the evolution of antibiotic resistance in activated sludge under ciprofloxacin exposure.
- To compare the effects of carbon sources on antibiotic resistance at both the microbial community and individual species levels.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of activated sludge communities fed with glucose versus acetate.
- Exposure to ciprofloxacin to assess antibiotic resistance evolution.
- DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) to identify direct carbon assimilators.
- Isolation and characterization of representative bacterial strains.
Main Results:
- Activated sludge fed with glucose showed 12.5–18.3 times higher ciprofloxacin resistance and a 21.05% increase in antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundance compared to acetate.
- Direct glucose assimilators harbored more ARGs, with a stronger link between community composition and resistome structure.
- Isolated strains (e.g., E. kobei, P. aeruginosa, E. coli) exhibited 1.56–10.2 fold higher resistance on glucose than acetate.
Conclusions:
- Glucose availability enhances antibiotic resistance evolution by providing energy that mitigates the metabolic cost of resistance mutations.
- Wastewater treatment plant management strategies must consider carbon source selection to balance pollutant removal efficiency with the mitigation of antibiotic resistance.
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