Removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria, genes and inhibition of plasmid-mediated horizontal transfer by peroxymonosulfate: Efficiency and mechanisms

• Peroxymonosulfate could remove antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes efficiently. • Peroxymonosulfate could work in a wide pH and ambient temperature range. • Peroxymonosulfate could destroy the structural and functional integrity of cells. • Peroxymonosulfate changed the expression of mRNA including conjugative genes. • Peroxymonosulfate is low-cost, easy operation and engineering applicability. As the emerging contaminants, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have caught considerable research attention, horizontal gene transfer is one of the most primary contributors to antibiotic resistance dissemination. The application of the oxidant peroxymonosulfate (PMS) as a disinfection alternative has been systemically explored. Also, the effects of various process parameters on ARB inactivation and plasmid-mediated horizontal transfer inhibition, initial bacterial concentration, pH value and temperature, were systemically investigated. The changes in cell substances (cell membrane integrity and intracellular reactive oxygen species) were determined by flow cytometry. The results suggested that the inactivation efficiency of Escherichia coli DH5α (donor) and Pseudomonas sp. HLS-6 (recipient) by 0.8 mM PMS treatment reached 4.45 log and 4.15 log in 30 min, respectively. The conjugative transfer didn’t arise after treatment for only 1 min when the dosage of PMS exceeded 0.4 mM. PMS could work in a wide pH and ambient temperature range. It also showed significant removal efficiency on intracellular ARGs and extracellular ARGs. To identify the underlying mechanisms of restraining conjugative transfer, the mRNA expression of conjugative genes, oxidative stress genes, save our souls (SOS) response-related gene, cell outer membrane proteins genes and global regulatory genes were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the expressions of these genes were altered by 0.8 mM PMS treatment. PMS has the advantages of low cost, easy operation and technical applicability. This study illustrated that PMS treatment showed great potential for controlling the antibiotic resistance for wastewater treatment.