Accumulation of antibiotic-resistant genes in anaerobic biofilm reactor fed with household chemical products

This research aims to determine the presence of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARG) in anaerobic biofilm reactors (ABR) fed with household chemical products (HCP) such as laundry detergents and handwash without any influx of antibiotics. The ABR comprised a three-chamber design with bottom sludge, a middle chamber containing fluidized PVC spiral, and a top chamber with packed coir fiber as a biofilm support medium, respectively. Four different ABRs were simultaneously operated for a prolonged period (200 day) and subjected to variations in physicochemical conditions. The ABRs fed with HCP exhibited solitary accumulation of log (4.4–7.5) ermC gene copies/g VS whereas, ARG was undetectable in glucose fed ABRs indicating that HCP exhibited antimicrobial activities synonyms to Erythromycin. Accumulation of Erythromycin-C (ermC) was relatively higher on the biofilm inhabiting PVC support medium and further accentuated by effluent recycling to log 7.5 ermC gene copies at a ratio of ermC/16S gene copies of 0.65. Physico-chemical factors such as substrate composition, biofilm support medium, and effluent recycling simultaneously elevated the concentration of ermC genes. The results indicated that HCP augments the accumulation of ARG in the microbiome, subsequently, increasing the risk in ARG transmission from sewage treatment plants to the ecology and humans. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s42452-020-3143-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.