Removal of sulphonamide resistance sul1 gene in water source and pond water by fishery oxidants in aquaculture

To explore the feasibility of using fishery oxidants to eliminate antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in aquaculture water and to control their spread, we studied the effects on ARG removal of three commonly used fishery oxidants (Sodium hypochlorite, dibromohydantoin and potassium permanganate) in water source and pond water by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Results show that the concentration of sul1 gene was high in the water source and pond water (10⁵ and 10⁶ copies·mL⁻¹, respectively), and the intracellular sul1 gene was the predominant form. Additionally, sodium hypochlorite had a strong effect on sul1 gene removal among all the experimental groups, and dibromohydantoin only showed a strong removal effect on sul1 gene in the water source. Potassium permanganate only showed a strong effect on the removal of extracellular sul1 gene in both water source and pond water. The results indicate that sodium hypochlorite has the best effect on ARG removal in both water source and pond water for these three common used fishery oxidants. Scientific application of sodium hypochlorite is beneficial to ARG removal and prevention in aquaticulture water.