OxiTop microcosm model as a possible tool to study the effect of antibiotic exposure on the microbial community

Jiang, Dongze and Yi, Yang and Cserháti, Mátyás and Kriszt, Balázs and Kaszab, Edit (2026) OxiTop microcosm model as a possible tool to study the effect of antibiotic exposure on the microbial community. HIDROLÓGIAI KÖZLÖNY, 106 (EN1). pp. 39-49. ISSN 0018-1323

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Abstract

The bacterial community of surface waters is a key element of self-cleansing, but under antibiotic pressure, it should be closely monitored to evaluate the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic resistance is one of the three most serious threats to human health. Antibiotic resistance can develop due to the selective pressure of antibiotics on the natural microbial ecosystem discharged through the effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study aimed to find a link between sewage load and the biological activity of the bacterial community with and without antibiotic pressure. To reach this goal, an OxiTop microcosm experiment was set using surface water samples originating from a Hungarian site with and without sewage load. Samples were supplemented with different combinations of antibiotics relevant in human and veterinary therapy (colistin, florfenicol, imipenem, ceftazidime). During the incubation period, biological oxygen demand (BOD) was regularly measured and was paired with traditional cultivation and next-generation sequencing. Based on our results, the bacterial diversity decreased under antibiotic pressure, but the viable cell counts were not necessarily affected. The microbial community of surface water with sewage load had a higher level of adaptability to the antibiotics. The key taxa under antibiotic pressure that are possible hosts of multiple antibiotic resistance genes were Cellvibrio, Aquabacterium, and Flavobacterium.

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