Effects of sulfonamide antibiotics on digestion performance and microbial community during swine manure anaerobic digestion

The effects of four types of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs), induding sulfaquinoxaline, sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethoxydiazine and sulfathiazole, on the digestion performance during anaerobic digestion process were studied using a lab-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor, and the changes of the community structure in the presence of SAs were investigated with the help of high throughput sequencing. The results indicated that when SAs were added, the hydrolytic acidification process was inhibited, and the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was induced, resulting in the suppression of methane production. However, the inhibition mechanism of different SAs was quite different. The inhibitory effect of high concentration of SAs on the hydrolysis of solid particulate matter into dissolved organic matter followed the order of sulfaquinoxaline > sulfamethoxydiazine > sulfathiazole > sulfamethoxazole. SAs have obvious inhibitory effects on acidification and methanation of dissolved organic matter, especially sulfathiazole. The richness and the community composition of the microorganism induding bacteria and archaea in the digestion system were affected by SAs. Under the effect of SAs, the relative abundance of many microorganisms is negatively correlated with methane production, among which Methanobrevibacter, a kind of Archaea, had the greatest influence on methane production.

Automated summary

The study found that sulfonamide antibiotics have significant impacts on the digestion performance and microbial community structure in anaerobic digestion processes, particularly inhibiting hydrolytic acidification and methane production. The inhibitory effects varied among the different sulfonamide antibiotics, indicating diverse mechanisms of action.