Bacteriophages limitedly contribute to the antimicrobial resistome of microbial communities in wastewater treatment plants.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages are known as players in the transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) by horizontal gene transfer. In this study, we characterized the bacteriophage community and the associated ARGs to estimate the potential for phages to spread ARGs in aquatic ecosystems analyzing the intra- and extracellular DNA isolated from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by shotgun metagenomics. We compared the phage antimicrobial resistome with the bacterial resistome and investigated the effect of the final disinfection treatment on the phage community and its resistome. Phage community was mainly composed by Siphoviridae and other members of the order Caudovirales. The final disinfection only marginally affected the composition of the phage community, and it was not

SUBMITTER: Sabatino R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10580818 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature