Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are hotspots for pathogens, and can facilitate horizontal gene transfer, potentially releasing harmful genetic material and antimicrobial resistance genes into the environment. Little information exists on the composition and behavior of microbes in WWTPs, especially in developing countries. This study used environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques to examine the microbiome load of wastewater from WWTPs. The DNA was isolated from wastewater samples collected from the treatment trains of three WWTPs in Kimberley, South Africa, and the microbial diversity and composition was compared through 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. The microbes detected were of the Kingdom Bacteria, and of these, 48.27% were successfully identified to genus level. The majority of reads from the combined bacterial data fall within the class Gammaproteobacteria, which is known to adversely impact ecological and human health. Arcobacteraceae constituted 19% of the bacterial reads, which is expected as this family is widespread in aquatic environments. Interestingly, the most abundant bacterial group was Bacteroides, which contain a variety of antibiotic-resistant members. Overall, various antibiotic-resistant taxa were detected in the wastewater, indicating a concerning level of antibiotic resistance within the bacterial community. Therefore, eDNA analysis can be a valuable tool in monitoring and assessing the bacterial microbiome in wastewater, thus providing important information for the optimization and improvement of wastewater treatment systems and mitigate public health risks.