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Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are a new environmental contaminant that poses a major hazard to humans and the environment. This research discusses the methods and drawbacks of two ARG removal approaches, constructed wetlands (CWs) and photocatalysis. CWs primarily rely on the synergistic effects of substrate adsorption, plant uptake, and microbial processes to remove ARGs. The removal of ARGs can be influenced by wetland plants, substrate type, wetland type, and hydraulic conditions. The absolute abundance of ARGs in effluent decreased, but their relative abundance increased. Photocatalysis deactivates ARGs predominantly through reactive oxygen species, with removal effectiveness determined by catalyst type, radiation type, and radiation intensity. The drawback is that it exposes intracellular resistance genes, perhaps increasing the risk of ARG spread. To address the current shortcomings, this paper proposes the feasibility of combining a constructed wetland with photocatalysis technology, which provides a novel strategy for ARG removal.

In this work, the removal efficiency and mechanism of various constructed wetlands microcosm systems on antibiotic wastewater, as well as the biological community response of microalgae and microorganisms were explored. Overall, the algal-bacteria symbiosis in conjunction with the gravel matrix had the most comprehensive treatment efficiency for antibiotic wastewater. However, pollutants such as high-concentration antibiotics impaired the biological community and functions. In the systems fed with microorganisms, both abundance and diversity of them were significantly reduced comparing with the initial value. According to the correlation analysis revealed that the pollutants removal rate increased with the addition of the relative abundance of some bacterial genera, while decreased with the addition of relative abundance of other bacterial genera. The presence of gravel matrix could lessen the stressful effect of antibiotics and other pollutants on the growth of microalgae and microorganisms, as well as improved treatment efficiency of antibiotic wastewater. Based on the findings of the study, the combination of gravel matrix and algal-bacteria symbiosis can considerably increase the capacity of constructed wetlands to treat antibiotic wastewater and protect biological community, which is an environmentally friendly way.