Exploring the influence of sulfadiazine-induced stress on antibiotic removal and transformation pathway using microalgae Chlorella sp.

Sulfadiazine (SDZ) is a kind of anti-degradable antibiotics that is commonly found in wastewater, but its removal mechanism and transformation pathway remain unclear in microalgal systems. This study investigated the effects of initial algae concentration and SDZ-induced stress on microalgal growth metabolism, SDZ removal efficiency, and transformation pathways during Chlorella sp. cultivation. Results showed that SDZ had an inhibitory effect on the growth of microalgae, and increasing the initial algal biomass could alleviate the inhibitory effect of SDZ. When the initial algal biomass of Chlorella sp. was increased to 0.25 g L-1, the SDZ removal rate could reach 53.27%-89.07%. The higher the initial algal biomass, the higher the SOD activity of microalgae, and the better the protective effect on microalgae, which was one of the reasons for the increase in SDZ removal efficiency. Meanwhile, SDZ stress causes changes in photosynthetic pigments, lipids, total sugars and protein content of Chlorella sp. in response to environmental changes. The main degradation mechanisms of SDZ by Chlorella sp. were biodegradation (37.82%) and photodegradation (23%). Most of the degradation products of SDZ were less toxic than the parent compound, and the green algae were highly susceptible to SDZ and its degradation products. The findings from this study offered valuable insights into the tradeoffs between accumulating microalgal biomass and antibiotic toxic risks during wastewater treatment, providing essential direction for the advancement in future research and full-scale application.

Effects of Hydrothermal Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion of Pig Manure on the Antibiotic Removal and Methane Production.

Whether advanced biological waste treatment technologies, such as hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) integrated anaerobic digestion (AD), could enhance the removal of different antibiotics remains unclear. This study investigated the outcome of antibiotics and methane productivity during pig manure treatment via HTP, AD, and HTP + AD. Results showed improved removal efficiency of sulfadiazine (SDZ), oxytetracycline (OTC), and enrofloxacin (ENR) with increased HTP temperatures (70, 90, 120, 150, and 170 °C). OTC achieved the highest removal efficiency of 86.8% at 170 °C because of its high sensitivity to heat treatment. For AD, SDZ exhibited resistance with a removal efficiency of 52.8%. However, OTC and ENR could be removed completely within 30 days. When HTP was used prior to AD, OTC and ENR could achieve complete removal. However, residual SDZ levels reduced to 20% and 16% at 150 and 170 °C, respectively. The methanogenic potential showed an overall upward trend as the HTP temperature increased. Microbial analysis revealed the antibiotics-induced enrichment of specific microorganisms during AD. Firmicutes were the dominant bacterial phylum, with their abundance positively correlated with the addition of antibiotics. Methanobacterium and Methanosarcina emerged as the dominant archaea that drove methane production during AD. Thus, HTP can be a potential pretreatment before AD to reduce antibiotic-related risks in manure waste handling.

Effect of reactor operation modes on mitigating antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and methane production from hydrothermally-pretreated pig manure.

Numerous efforts have been made to enhance the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) for accelerating renewable energy generation, however, it remains unclear whether the intensified measures could enhance the proliferation and transmissions of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the system. This study assessed the impact of an innovative pig manure AD process, which includes hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) and a two-stage configuration with separated acidogenic and methanogenic phases, on biomethane (CH4) production and ARGs dynamics. Results showed that HTP significantly increase CH4 production from 0.65 to 0.75 L/L/d in conventional single-stage AD to 0.82 and 0.91 L/L/d in two-stage AD. This improvement correlated with a rise in the relative abundance of Methanosarcina, a key methanogenesis microorganism. In the two-stage AD, the methanogenic stage offered an ideal environment for methanogens growth, resulting in substantially faster and higher CH4 production by about 10% compared to single-stage AD. Overall, the combined use of HTP and the two-stage AD configuration enhanced CH4 production by 40% compared to traditional single-stage AD. The abundance and diversity of ARGs were significantly reduced in the acidogenic reactors after HTP. However, the ARGs levels increased by about two times in the following methanogenesis stage and reached similar or higher levels than in single stage AD. The erm(F), erm(G), ant(6)-Ia, tet(W), mef(A) and erm(B) were the six main ARGs with significant differences in relative abundances in various treatments. The two-stage AD mode could better remove sul2, but it also had a rebound which elevated the risk of ARGs to the environment and human health. Network analysis identified pH and TVFAs as critical factors driving microbial communities and ARG proliferation in the new AD process. With the results, this study offers valuable insights into the trade-offs between AD performance enhancement and ARG-related risks, pinpointing essential areas for future research and practical improvements.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Peleteria iavana (Diptera, Tachinidae) in Guizhou, China, and its phylogenetic placement.

The mitochondrial genome of the tachinid fly Peleteria iavana (Wiedemann, 1819), which belongs to the family Tachinidae, was obtained for the first time using high-throughput sequencing techniques. The complete mitochondrial genome is 15,697 bp in size and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNAs and a non-coding control region. The nucleotide composition biases A and T, the overall A + T percentage is up to 78.9% of the entire mitogenome. A phylogenetic analysis of 30 species within the family Tachinidae suggested that P. iavana is most closely related to (Janthinomyia sp.+Lydina aenea). The P. iavana mitochondrial genome will be a fundamental resource for understanding the molecular phylogenetic relationships of the species-rich subfamily Tachininae of Tachinidae.