Occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes and their correlations in lower Yangtze River, China

Abstract The overuse and misuse of antibiotics could promote the emergence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pose a potential risk to human health and the ecological environment. In this study, fifteen antibiotics and their corresponding ARGs in water, sediment and sewage treatment plant (STP) effluent were analysed to investigate their occurrence and correlation in the Yangtze River (Jiangsu section) for the first time. The concentrations of erythromycin-H2O (EM-H2O) (2.08–30 ng L−1) and ofloxacin (OFL) (290–8400 ng kg−1) were the highest in the water and sediment, respectively, and EM-H2O and clarithromycin (CLA) posed the highest risks to aquatic organisms. The concentrations of antibiotics in STP effluent were significantly higher (p