The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the temporal dynamics of antimicrobial resistance markers and bacterial community across urban wastewater treatment plants

Vollständiger Abstract

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Abstract Urban wastewater systems represent important interfaces between human activity and the environmental occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers. We assessed the temporal dynamics of intI1 , ermB , and the 16 S rRNA gene by quantitative PCR across three wastewater systems (EPC, CJC, and JW) in Fortaleza, Brazil, from November 2021 to November 2023. Bacterial communities were additionally characterized by 16 S rRNA gene metabarcoding in 18 samples collected in December 2021 and January 2022. A synchronized decline in 16 S rRNA gene and intI1 concentrations beginning in late 2022 was observed across all three wastewater systems, suggesting a shift toward lower microbial abundance. The ermB gene showed higher and more variable concentrations during part of the pandemic period, followed by convergence toward lower levels; however, the absence of antimicrobial-consumption data precluded attribution of this pattern to changes in macrolide selective pressure. Normalized antimicrobial resistance marker abundances were comparatively stable at EPC and JW but more variable at CJC. EPC exhibited the highest ASV richness, whereas CJC and JW showed greater diversity according to Shannon and inverse Simpson indices. Beta-diversity analyses identified wastewater system as the principal factor associated with bacterial community structure, while the effect of sampling period was smaller and metric-dependent. Neither ermB nor intI1 was individually associated with community composition, although intI1 showed a limited effect after adjustment for wastewater system in one model. Physicochemical parameters were not significantly associated with normalized marker abundances in the exploratory paired analysis. Arcobacter , Acinetobacter , and other potentially relevant genera were detected, but no direct associations between these taxa and the monitored AMR markers could be established. These findings highlight the value of integrating longitudinal qPCR, microbiome profiling, and environmental characterization to improve the interpretation of targeted AMR markers in One Health wastewater surveillance.