Natural defence mechanisms of electrochemically active biofilms: From the perspective of microbial adaptation, survival strategies and antibiotic resistance

•Electrochemically active biofilms (EABs) can rapidly adapt to low concentrations of tetracycline (CTC ≤ 5 μM) stress.•Adaptation time of EABs increases and catalytic activity decreases at CTC ≥ 10 μM.•EABs exhibit good resilience and anti-shock capacity under chronic/acute TC stress.•EABs’ survival strategies are extracellular proteins’ secretion and antibiotic efflux.•Geobacter spp. can be selectively enriched under chronic TC stress. Electrochemically active biofilms (EABs) play an ever-growingly critical role in the biological treatment of wastewater due to its low carbon footprint and sustainability. However, how the multispecies biofilms adapt, survive and become tolerant under acute and chronic toxicity such as antibiotic stress still remains well un-recognized. Here, the stress responses of EABs to tetracycline concentrations (CTC) and different operation schemes were comprehensively investigated. Results show that EABs can quickly adapt (start-up time is barely affected) to low CTC (≤ 5 μM) exposure while the adaptation time of EABs increases and the bioelectrocatalytic activity decreases at CTC ≥ 10 μM. EABs exhibit a good resilience and high anti-shocking capacity under chronic and acute TC stress, respectively. But chronic effects negatively affect the metabolic activity and extracellular electron transfer, and simultaneously change the spatial morphology and microbial community structure of EABs. Particularly, the typical exoelectrogens Geobacter anodireducens can be selectively enriched under chronic TC stress with relative abundance increasing from 45.11% to 85.96%, showing stronger TC tolerance than methanogens. This may be attributed to the effective survival strategies of EABs in response to TC stress, including antibiotic efflux regulated by tet(C) at the molecular level and the secretion of more extracellular proteins in the macro scale, as the C=O bond in amide I of aromatic amino acids plays a critical role in alleviating the damage of TC to cells. Overall, this study highlights the versatile defences of EABs in terms of microbial adaptation, survival strategies, and antibiotic resistance, and deepens the understanding of microbial communities’ evolution of EABs in response to acute and chronic TC stress. [Display omitted]