Exploring antibiotic resistance genes and metal resistance genes in plasmid metagenomes from wastewater treatment plants.

ABSTRACT: Plasmids operate as independent genetic elements in microorganism communities. Through horizontal gene transfer (HGT), they can provide their host microorganisms with important functions such as antibiotic resistance and heavy metal resistance. In this study, six metagenomic libraries were constructed with plasmid DNA extracted from influent, activated sludge (AS) and digested sludge (DS) of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Compared with the metagenomes of the total DNA extracted from the same sectors of the wastewater treatment plant, the plasmid metagenomes had significantly higher annotation rates, indicating that the functional genes on plasmids are commonly shared by those studied microorganisms. Meanwhile, the plasmid metagenomes also encoded many more genes related to defens

SUBMITTER: Li AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585309 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature