Distinct ARG profiles associated with class 1 integrons in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants.

ABSTRACT: Class 1 integrons facilitate horizontal gene transfer, significantly influencing antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination within microbial communities. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical reservoirs of ARGs and integrons, yet the integron-mediated dynamics of ARG transfer across different WWTP types remain poorly understood. Here we show distinct ARG profiles associated with class 1 integrons in municipal and industrial WWTPs using a novel approach combining nested-like high-throughput qPCR and PacBio sequencing. Although industrial WWTPs contained higher absolute integron abundances, their relative ARG content was lower (1.27 × 10⁷-9.59 × 10⁷ copies/ng integron) compared to municipal WWTPs (3.72 × 10⁷-1.98 × 10⁸ copies/ng inte

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12173746 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature