The structure of biodegradable surfactants shaped the microbial community, antimicrobial resistance, and potential for horizontal gene transfer

Surfactants can be cationic, anionic, or zwitterionic, and these different classes may have different effects on the proliferation ARG. Cationic hexadecyltrimethylammonium CTAB, anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS, and zwitterionic 3decyldimethylammoniopropanesulfonate inner salt DAPS were used to represent the three classes of surfactants. The metagenomic results reveal that the presence and biodegradation for each surfactant uniquely shaped the biofilms microbial communities and the presence of ARG. The metagenomic result also provide details of functional genes that enriched with the presence of these three surfactants.