Antibiotic resistance genes fate during food waste management - Comparison between thermal treatment, hyperthermophilic composting, and anaerobic membrane bioreactor.

The fate of eight different antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in food waste (sul1, sul2, tetO, tetW, ermF, ermB, ampC, oxa-1), intI1, and rpoB were monitored during thermal treatment (pyrolysis and incineration), hyperthermophilic composting, and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treatment. ARGs in food waste ranged from 2.9 × 106 to 3.5 × 109 copies/kg with ampC being the least abundant and sul1 being the most abundant. Thermal treatment achieved removal below detection limits of all ARGs. Only two ARGs (sul1 and ampC) persisted in hyperthermophilic composting. While all genes except for ermB decreased in the AnMBR effluent relative to the food waste feed, sul1 remained at relatively high abundance. Biosolids on the contrary, accumulated tetO, ampC and sul2 in all tested operating conditions. Thermal treatment, despite limited resource recovery, provides the most effective mitigation of ARG risk in food waste.

Metagenome-Assembled Genomes from Photo-Oxidized and Nonoxidized Oil-Degrading Marine Microcosms.

We performed deep metagenomic sequencing on hydrocarbon-degrading marine microcosms designed to experimentally determine the effect of photo-oxidation on oil biodegradation dynamics. Assembly, binning, and dereplication yielded 73 unique metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from 6 phyla, of which 61 are predicted to be over 90% complete.