Airborne antibiotic resistome and microbiome in pharmaceutical factories

Hong Bai; Liang-Ying He; Fang-Zhou Gao; Kai-Sheng Yao; Min Zhang; Lu-Kai Qiao; Zi-Yin Chen; Lu-Xi He; You-Sheng Liu; Jian-Liang Zhao; Guang-Guo Ying

Environment International (Apr 2024)

Airborne antibiotic resistome and microbiome in pharmaceutical factories

Hong Bai,
Liang-Ying He,
Fang-Zhou Gao,
Kai-Sheng Yao,
Min Zhang,
Lu-Kai Qiao,
Zi-Yin Chen,
Lu-Xi He,
You-Sheng Liu,
Jian-Liang Zhao,
Guang-Guo Ying

Affiliations

Hong Bai: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Liang-Ying He: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding authors at: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Fang-Zhou Gao: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Kai-Sheng Yao: Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Min Zhang: Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, Pearl River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, Guangzhou 510610, China
Lu-Kai Qiao: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Zi-Yin Chen: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Lu-Xi He: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
You-Sheng Liu: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jian-Liang Zhao: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China
Guang-Guo Ying: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding authors at: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 186
p. 108639

Abstract

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Antimicrobial resistance is considered to be one of the biggest public health problems, and airborne transmission is an important but under-appreciated pathway for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. Previous research has shown pharmaceutical factories to be a major source of ARGs and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in the surrounding receiving water and soil environments. Pharmaceutical factories are hotspots of antibiotic resistance, but the atmospheric transmission and its environmental risk remain more concerns. Here, we conducted a metagenomic investigation into the airborne microbiome and resistome in three pharmaceutical factories in China. Soil (average: 38.45%) and wastewater (average: 28.53%) were major contributors of airborne resistome. ARGs (vanR/vanS, blaOXA, and CfxA) conferring resistance to critically important clinically used antibiotics were identified in the air samples. The wastewater treatment area had significantly higher relative abundances of ARGs (average: 0.64 copies/16S rRNA). Approximately 28.2% of the detected airborne ARGs were found to be associated with plasmids, and this increased to about 50% in the wastewater treatment area. We have compiled a list of high-risk airborne ARGs found in pharmaceutical factories. Moreover, A total of 1,043 viral operational taxonomic units were identified and linked to 47 family-group taxa. Different CRISPR-Cas immune systems have been identified in bacterial hosts in response to phage infection. Similarly, higher phage abundance (average: 2451.70 PPM) was found in the air of the wastewater treatment area. Our data provide insights into the antibiotic resistance gene profiles and microbiome (bacterial and non-bacterial) in pharmaceutical factories and reveal the potential role of horizontal transfer in the spread of airborne ARGs, with implications for human and animal health.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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