Metagenomic deciphers the mobility and bacterial hosts of antibiotic resistance genes under antibiotics and heavy metals co-selection pressures in constructed wetlands

作     者：Yu, Meng-Fei Chen, Luwen Liu, Guihua Liu, Wenzhi Yang, Yuyi Ma, Lin 

作者机构：South Cent Minzu Univ Coll Life Sci Key Lab Biotechnol State Ethn Affairs Commiss Wuhan Peoples R China Chinese Acad Sci Key Lab Aquat Bot & Watershed Ecol Wuhan Bot Garden Wuhan Peoples R China Chinese Acad Sci Hubei Key Lab Wetland Evolut & Ecol Restorat Wuhan Peoples R China 

出 版 物：《ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH》 (Environ. Res.)

年 卷 期：2025年第269卷

页      面：120921页

核心收录：

学科分类：12[管理学] 1204[管理学-公共管理] 0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 120402[管理学-社会医学与卫生事业管理(可授管理学、医学学位)] 1004[医学-公共卫生与预防医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 10[医学] 

基　　金：National Natural Science Foundation of China [82070031, 32371714] Hubei Provincial Key Research and Development Program [2024BCB065] Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, South-Central Minzu University [CPT22032] Fund for Scientific Research Platforms of South-Central Minzu University [PTZ24020] 

主　　题：Antibiotic resistance genes Antibiotic and heavy metal co-selection Constructed wetlands Mobile genetic elements 

摘      要：Both antibiotics and heavy metals exert significant selection pressures on antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs). This study aimed to investigate the co-selection effects of doxycycline (DC) and cadmium (Cd) on ARGs in constructed wetlands (CWs). The results demonstrated that under antibiotic and heavy metal co-selection pressures, single high concentration DC/Cd or double high, relative abundances of metagenomics assembled genomes all reached 55.1%;meanwhile, the average ratio of ARG-containing contigs located on chromosomes was 61.8% (ranging from 50.4% to 70.6%) suggesting a more stable inheritance of ARGs. Antibiotic and heavy metal co-selection in single high concentration DC/Cd or double high groups stimulate the enrichment of ARG host bacteria, which exhibited complex multiple-resistant patterns accompanied by a host-specific pattern. Additionally, the potential transfer abilities of ARGs mediated by plasmids and integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) were enhanced under single high-concentration DC/Cd or double high stresses. Together, antibiotic and heavy metal co-selection pressures increased occurrence frequencies of ARGs, MGEs, and their combinations and altered structural communities of ARG host bacteria, increasing the risk of the spread of ARGs. This study was helpful in understanding the dissemination of ARGs and simultaneously preventing the spread of heavy metal-resistant bacteria and ARGs under antibiotic and heavy metal co-selection in small- and micro-wetlands.