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Modeling the fate of antibiotic resistance genes and class 1 integrons during thermophilic anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater solids

  • Environmental Biotechnology
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Abstract

This study investigated the use of thermophilic anaerobic digestion for removing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from residual municipal wastewater solids. Four laboratory-scale anaerobic digesters were operated in 8-day batch cycles at temperatures of 40, 56, 60, and 63 °C. Two tetracycline resistance genes (tet(W) and tet(X)), a fluoroquinolone resistance gene (qnrA), the integrase gene of class 1 integrons (intI1), 16S rRNA genes of all Bacteria, and 16S rRNA genes of methanogens were quantified using real-time quantitative PCR. ARG and intI1 quantities decreased at all temperatures and were described well by a modified form of the Collins-Selleck disinfection kinetic model. The magnitudes of Collins-Selleck kinetic parameters were significantly greater at thermophilic temperatures compared to 40 °C, but few statistically significant differences were observed among these parameters for the thermophilic anaerobic digesters. This model allows for the direct comparison of different operating conditions (e.g., temperature) on anaerobic digestion performance in mitigating the quantity of ARGs in wastewater solids and could be used to design full-scale anaerobic digesters to specifically treat for ARGs as a “pollutant” of concern.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (CBET-0967176).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, 500 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Tucker R. Burch & Timothy M. LaPara

  2. Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Michael J. Sadowsky & Timothy M. LaPara

  3. Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Michael J. Sadowsky

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  1. Tucker R. Burch
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  2. Michael J. Sadowsky
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  3. Timothy M. LaPara
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Correspondence to Timothy M. LaPara.

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Burch, T.R., Sadowsky, M.J. & LaPara, T.M. Modeling the fate of antibiotic resistance genes and class 1 integrons during thermophilic anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater solids. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 1437–1444 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-7043-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-7043-x

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