Metagenomic Analysis of the Antibiotic Resistance Risk between an Aerobic and Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor

Membrane bioreactors are advanced treatment technologies that, compared to conventional processes, expected reduce antibiotic resistance spread in the environment due their superior biomass retention. In this study, metagenomic sequencing was used assess response of microbial community and profile an aerobic membrane bioreactor (AeMBR) anaerobic (AnMBR) operated parallel, treating identical synthetic wastewater supplemented with select antibiotics. Our results revealed a greater impact on gene (ARG) proliferation within AeMBR AnMBR. Moreover, loading elicited more pronounced disruption diversity effluent intracellular DNA its AnMBR counterpart. Under loading, enriched ARGs form antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while wide set extracellular across broad spectrum classes. These provide theoretical basis for process selection controlling during management.