Shi Jianhong, Ji Chengyuan, Wang Rui, Sun Chaoli, Lv Baoyi
College of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
CCCC National Engineering Research Center of Dredging and Equipment Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200082, China.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2025 Mar 26;14(4):340. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics14040340.
The propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) poses a huge threat to environmental and human health. The ballast water from ships has been recognized as an important vector of ARGs. However, little is known about how ballast water from geographically isolated water affects ARGs in receiving waters. Herein, we investigated the changes in ARGs in receiving water by microcosm experiments simulating the discharge of ballast water. The simulated discharge of ballast water increased the abundances of target ARGs, which were 1.3-5.6-fold higher in the mixture of ballast water and receiving water (microcosm M) than in receiving water at the end of the experiment. The enrichment of target ARGs was significantly associated with MGEs. Moreover, the discharge of ballast water changed the microbial communities in receiving water. Further network analysis identified potential ARG hosts, such as a and , with the abundance in microcosm M (0.23% and 0.036%) being higher than in receiving water (0.09% and 0.006%), the changes of which might be responsible for ARG variations. Overall, our findings suggest the discharge of ballast water might promote the spread of ARGs in different geographical waters and the corresponding ecological risks should not be ignored.
抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）的传播对环境和人类健康构成了巨大威胁。船舶压载水已被公认为ARGs的重要传播载体。然而，对于来自地理隔离水域的压载水如何影响受纳水体中的ARGs，人们知之甚少。在此，我们通过模拟压载水排放的微观实验研究了受纳水体中ARGs的变化。模拟压载水排放增加了目标ARGs的丰度，在实验结束时，压载水与受纳水体的混合样（微观世界M）中目标ARGs的丰度比受纳水体中的高1.3至5.6倍。目标ARGs的富集与移动遗传元件（MGEs）显著相关。此外，压载水的排放改变了受纳水体中的微生物群落。进一步的网络分析确定了潜在的ARGs宿主，如a和，其在微观世界M中的丰度（分别为0.23%和0.036%）高于受纳水体（分别为0.09%和0.006%），它们的变化可能是导致ARGs变化的原因。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，压载水排放可能促进ARGs在不同地理水域中的传播，相应的生态风险不容忽视。
