Antibiotic resistance gradient along a large Scandinavian river influenced by wastewater treatment plants

Journal article, 2026

Recent studies have identified the environment as a key reservoir from which antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) can be acquired and transmitted to pathogens. However, our knowledge about the presence of ARGs in high-flow river sediments is still limited. We analyzed the resistome of sediment bacterial communities along the Swedish river Göta Älv and investigated the potential dissemination of ARGs and antimicrobials from effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). While we detected nine different antimicrobials in the effluent water from the WWTPs through HPLC-MS, their presence was not observed in the river surface water. Analysis by qPCR revealed that the genes sul1 and ermB were the most dominant ARGs among sediment, sludge, and effluent samples. Shotgun metagenomics revealed unique differences between the sludge resistomes of the WWTPs. Moreover, our findings show that ARGs increase downstream of the Göta Älv and their diversity differs from that of the upstream sites. Efflux pump resistance-related genes were most abundant in sediment samples, and beta-lactams and tetracyclines were the most common antibiotic classes targeted by ARGs. Our study emphasizes the importance of urban river sediments as a reservoir of ARGs, as tracking ARGs in WWTPs and their receiving environments improves our understanding of their spread and characteristics.