Removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes by post-pyrolysis bio-hybridcarbon/peroxymonosulfate system: Gene-degrading intermediates of bioinformatic identification based on corrected-nanopore sequencing and preference mechanism

Antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been recognized as emerging pollutants. It is accessible to restrict disseminating antibiotic resistance by inactivating ARB and degrading its ARGs by oxidation treatment processes in aquatic environment, but until now the producing gene-degrading intermediates are not reported. In this study, a novel post-pyrolysis bio-hybridcarbon (Co@PS-BC) was pre-pared for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to eliminate both E. coli DH5 alpha-based ARB and its ARGs (blaTEM-1 and MPTII). Importantly, gene-degradation intermediates of ARGs were analyzed by Nanopore sequencing and Illumina sequencing. The results of bioinformatic analyses showed that the gene-degrading intermediates held the abundant GGC motifs, relatively high GC content and base preference of breakpoints toward guanine. Overall, our work develops a novel approach for effectively eliminating ARB and ARGs from water, and provides an insight into the composition and base preference of gene-degrading intermediates.