Unveiling the risks and critical mechanisms of polyhexamethylene guanidine on the antibiotic resistance genes propagation during sludge fermentation process

This study mainly investigated the environmental risks of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) occurred in waste activated sludge (WAS) on the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) spread during anaerobic fermentation, and disclosed the critical mechanisms. The total ARGs abundance was increased by 32.2–46.4% at different stressing levels of PHMG. The main resistance mechanism categories of ARGs shifted to the target alternation and efflux pump. PHMG disintegrated WAS structure and increased the cell permeability, which benefitted the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) release and horizontal transfer of ARGs. Besides, PHMG induced the enrichment of potential ARGs hosts (i.e., Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium and Aeromonas). Moreover, PHMG upregulated the metabolic pathways (i.e., two-component system, quorum sensing, and ATP-binding cassette transporters) and critical genes expression (i.e., metN, metQ, rpfF, rstA and rstB) related with ARGs generation and dissemination. Structural equation model analysis revealed that microbial community structure was the predominant contributor to the ARGs propagation.