Effects of sulfamethoxazole on nitrogen removal and molecular ecological network in integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland

Response of nitrogen removal efficiency and microbial interactions to organic pollution has been a major issue in wastewater treatment system. However, the nitrogen removal efficiency and interactions among microbial community under antibiotics press is still unclear. Thus, the effect of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on nitrogen removal and microbial responses of IVCWs was investigated through recorded the nitrogen removal efficiency before and after adding SMX and random matrix theory (RMT)-based network analysis. Results showed that better NH4+-N removal (> 90%) after a long period of operation were achieved in IVCWs, but NO3 --N was accumulated. However, nitrate removal rates were significantly increased after long-term exposure (60 d) to 100 mu g L-1 SMX (from 27.35% to 35.57%) with relatively high SMX removal (53.50%). Surprisingly, the ammonia nitrogen removal rate (90.07-92.70%) were not significantly affected by SMX in IVCWs. Moreover, the bacterial richness was decreased and the bacterial community structures were altered by the presence of SMX, especially those of nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. Molecular ecological network analysis suggested that SMX had positive influences on denitrifying bacteria interactions but reduced the network complexity and microbial interactions on whole molecular network, and among-module connections were weakened obviously at SMX.

Automated summary

The study found that long-term exposure to SMX significantly increased nitrate removal rates in IVCWs, while ammonia nitrogen removal rates were not significantly affected. The presence of SMX led to a decrease in bacterial richness and alterations in bacterial community structures, especially those of nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. The molecular ecological network analysis revealed that SMX had positive effects on denitrifying bacteria interactions but reduced the complexity of the microbial network as a whole.