An extensive assessment of seasonal rainfall on intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in Urban River systems

Rainfall events are responsible for the accelerated transfer of antibiotic-resistant contaminants to receiving en-vironments. However, the specific profiles of various ARG types, including intra-and extracellular ARGs (iARGs and eARGs) responding to season rainfall needed more comprehensive assessments. Particularly, the key factors driving the distribution and transport of iARGs and eARGs have not been well characterized. Results revealed that the absolute abundance of eARGs was observed to be more than one order of magnitude greater than that of iARGs during the dry season in the reservoir. However, the absolute abundance of iARGs significantly increased after rainfall (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, seasonal rainfall significantly decreased the diversity of eARGs and the number of shared genes between iARGs and eARGs (p < 0.01). Results of structural equation models (SEM) and network analysis showed the rank and co-occurrence of influencing factors (e.g., microbial community, MGEs, environmental variables, and dissolved organic matter (DOM)) concerning the changes in iARGs and eARGs. DOM contributed majorly to eARGs in the reservoir and pathogens was responsible for eARGs in the river during the wet season. Network analysis revealed that the tnp-04 and IS613 genes-related MGEs co-occurred with eARGs in the dry and wet seasons, which were regarded as potential molecular indicators to shape eARGs profiles in urban rivers. Besides, the results demonstrated close relationships between DOM fluorescence signatures and two-typed ARGs. Specifically, humic acid was significantly and positively correlated with the eARGs in the reservoir during the wet season, while fulvic acid-like substances exhibited strong correlations of iARGs and eARGs in the river during the dry season (p < 0.01). This work provides extensive insights into the potential effect of seasonal rainfall on the dynamic distribution of iARGs and eARGs and the dominance of DOM in driving the fate of two-typed ARGs in urban river systems.

Automated summary

Rainfall events contribute to the transfer of antibiotic-resistant contaminants to the environment. More comprehensive assessments are needed to understand the distribution and transport of intra- and extracellular antibiotic-resistant genes (iARGs and eARGs) in different seasons. Results showed that the abundance of eARGs was significantly higher than that of iARGs during the dry season in the reservoir, but increased after rainfall. Seasonal rainfall also affected the diversity and shared genes between iARGs and eARGs. Factors such as microbial community and dissolved organic matter played important roles in the distribution of ARGs.