Residual chlorine disrupts the microbial communities and spreads antibiotic resistance in freshwater.

ABSTRACT: Chlorine disinfection is a key global public health strategy for the prevention and control of diseases, such as COVID-19. However, little is known about effects of low levels of residual chlorine on freshwater microbial communities and antibiotic resistomes. Here, we treated freshwater microcosms with continuous low concentrations of chlorine and quantified the effects on aquatic and zebrafish intestinal microbial communities and antibiotic resistomes, using shotgun metagenome and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Although chlorine rapidly degraded, it altered the aquatic microbial community composition over time and disrupted interactions among microbes, leading to decreases in community complexity and stability. However, community diversity was unaffected. The majority of ecological functions,

SUBMITTER: Zhang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9758890 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature