Research on the effect of ultraviolet disinfection on the removal of antibiotic resistance genes from mariculture wastewater

The spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment has led to a continuous increase in bacterial resistance, posing a great threat to public health safety. Mariculture is one of the important anthropogenic activities that contribute to the proliferation of ARGs in the aquatic environment, which seriously threatens the ecological safety of the marine environment. In this study, the effects of UV disinfection on the removal of ARGs and changes in the composition of bacterial microbial communities were investigated in the wastewater of intensive mariculture. The results showed that the UV disinfection method had a significant removal effect on ARGs in mariculture wastewater, and the removal effect was enhanced with the increase of irradiation dose. Meanwhile, the V3-V4 sequencing results of bacterial microorganisms showed that UV disinfection could induce changes in the relative abundance of the dominant flora in mariculture wastewater. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the changes in bacterial microbial communities were the key reason for the effective control of ARGs in mariculture wastewater, and bacteria as potential hosts provided the core driving force for the removal of ARGs. This study can provide a scientific basis for the control and prevention of ARG pollution in the marine environment.