Biofilm electrode reactor coupled manganese ore substrate up-flow microbial fuel cell-constructed wetland system: High removal efficiencies of antibiotic, zinc (II), and the corresponding antibiotic resistance genes

A coupled system comprised of a biofilm electrode reactor (BER) and a manganese ore substrate microbial fuel cell-constructed wetland (MFC-CW) system was used to remove co-exposed antibiotic and Zn (II), as well as simultaneously reduce copies of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the current study. In this system, BER primarily reduced the concentrations of antibiotics and Zn (II), and the effluent was used as the input to the MFC-CW, thereby providing electricity to BER. Co-exposure to a high concentration of Zn (II) decreased the relative abundances (RAs) of ARGs in the BER effluent, whereas the remaining sub-lethal concentration of Zn (II) increased the RAs of ARGs in the MFC-CW effluent. Even though the absolute copies of ARGs in the effluents increased during co-exposure, the total number of target ARG copies in the effluent of MFC-CW was significantly lower than that of BER. Moreover, BER pre-treatment eliminated most of Zn (II), which improved the electrical power generation characteristic of the MFC-CW unit. Correspondingly, the bacterial community and the ARGs hosts were analyzed to demonstrate the mechanism. In conclusion, the coupled system demonstrates significant potential to reduce antibiotics, Zn (II) and environmental risks posed by ARGs. [Display omitted] •Zn (II) reduced total relative abundances of ARGs and intI in the BER effluent.•Sub-lethal concentration of Zn (II) enriched ARGs in the MFC-CW effluent.•The total copies of the target ARGs in the MFC-CW effluent were reduced.•BER reduced the toxic damage of Zn (II) to the MFC-CW anode community.