Tetracyclines, sulfonamides and quinolones and their corresponding resistance genes in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Highlights: • Antibiotics and corresponding ARGs were determined in the Three Gorges Reservoir. • SAs were had higher total concentrations than TCs and FQs. • Gene sul was dominating of quantified ARGs. • IntI1 may facilitate the proliferation and propagation of seven ARGs. • Human activities might be relative to the distribution and magnitudes of ARGs. The Three Gorges Project significantly impacted water quality and ecological balance in this area. The special engineered aquatic environment could be an important reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Fifteen ARGs corresponding to three groups of antibiotics (tetracyclines, sulfonamides and quinolones) were determined in surface water, soil and sediment in this study. Total concentrations of antibiotics ranged from 21.55 to 536.86 ng/L, 3.69 to 438.76 ng/g, 15.78 to 213.84 ng/g in water, soil and sediment, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of ARGs revealed the presence of two sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1, sul2), five tetracycline resistance genes (tetA, tetB, tetM, tetQ, tetG) and class 1 integron gene (intI1) in all samples. And the relative abundance of sulfonamide resistance genes was generally higher than tetracycline resistance genes in three matrices. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were found between the concentrations of intI1 and ARGs (tetA, tetB, tetM, tetQ, tetG, sul1, sul2), indicating intI1 may facilitate the proliferation and propagation of these genes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed distribution of ARGs was related to the certain antibiotics residues, which may exert selective pressure on bacteria and thus enrich the abundance of ARGs. The results of this study could provide useful information for both better understanding and management of the contamination caused by ARGs and related antibiotics in engineered aquatic environments.