Dr. B. Lal Institute of Biotechnology, Malviya Industrial Area, Malviya Nagar, Jaipur 302017, India.
Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taiwan.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jun 15;773:145152. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145152. Epub 2021 Feb 6.
In the recent decades, the role of wastewater treatment plants has been entrenched for the dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria into the environment. The present study explores the dynamics of earthworms-microorganisms interactions involved in the high treatment efficacy of vermifiltration technology along with reduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). This study is the first of its kind to investigate the performance efficacy of vermifilter (VF) for clinical laboratory wastewater treatment. The results of the study showed that earthworms and VF associated microbial community had a significant effect on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reduction (78-85%), coliforms and pathogen removal (>99.9%) and caused a significant shift in the prevalence pattern of ARB. Molecular profiling of resistance causing genes such as ESBL (bla, bla and bla), MRSA (mec-A) and Colistin (mcr-1) confirmed the probable mechanisms behind the resistance pattern. The microbial community diversity in the influent, earthworm's coelomic fluid and gut and filter media layers associated with the VF assists in the formation of biofilm, which helps in the removal of pathogens from the wastewater. This biofilm formation further results in a paradigm shift in the resistance profile of ARB and ARG, specifically most effective against drugs, targeting cell wall and protein synthesis inhibition such as Ampicillin, Ticarcillin, Gentamicin and Chloramphenicol. These findings further validate vermifiltration technology as a sustainable and natural treatment technology for clinical laboratory wastewater, specifically for the removal of pathogens and antibiotic resistance.
在最近几十年中，污水处理厂的作用已经根深蒂固，因为它们会将抗生素耐药菌传播到环境中。本研究探讨了蚯蚓-微生物相互作用的动态，这些相互作用涉及到 vermifiltration 技术的高效处理以及减少抗生素耐药菌（ARB）。这是首次研究 vermifilter（VF）在临床实验室废水处理中的性能效果。研究结果表明，蚯蚓和 VF 相关微生物群落对生化需氧量（BOD）和化学需氧量（COD）的减少（78-85％）、大肠菌群和病原体的去除（>99.9％）有显著影响，并导致 ARB 的流行模式发生了显著变化。对耐药基因（如 ESBL（bla、bla 和 bla）、MRSA（mec-A）和多粘菌素（mcr-1））的分子分析证实了耐药模式背后的可能机制。在流入物、蚯蚓体腔液和肠道以及与 VF 相关的过滤介质层中的微生物群落多样性有助于生物膜的形成，这有助于从废水中去除病原体。这种生物膜的形成进一步导致 ARB 和 ARG 的耐药谱发生范式转变，特别是针对针对细胞壁和蛋白质合成抑制的药物最有效，如氨苄西林、替卡西林、庆大霉素和氯霉素。这些发现进一步验证了 vermifiltration 技术作为临床实验室废水的可持续和自然处理技术的有效性，特别是用于去除病原体和抗生素耐药性。
