Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes associated with the sporobiota in sediments impacted by wastewater

PeerJ

article

Christophe Paul¹  Zhanna Bayrychenko¹  Thomas Junier²  Sevasti Filippidou¹  Karin Beck³  Matthieu Bueche¹  Gilbert Greub⁴  Helmut Bürgmann³  Pilar Junier¹ 

[1] Institute of Biology, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchatel;Vital-IT, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics;Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology;Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center, University of Lausanne

关键词: WWTP;    ARG;    Seed bank;    tet(W);    sul1;    Dispersal;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.4989

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Aquatic ecosystems serve as a dissemination pathway and a reservoir of both antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). In this study, we investigate the role of the bacterial sporobiota to act as a vector for ARG dispersal in aquatic ecosystems. The sporobiota was operationally defined as the resilient fraction of the bacterial community withstanding a harsh extraction treatment eliminating the easily lysed fraction of the total bacterial community. The sporobiota has been identified as a critical component of the human microbiome, and therefore potentially a key element in the dissemination of ARG in human-impacted environments. A region of Lake Geneva in which the accumulation of ARG in the sediments has been previously linked to the deposition of treated wastewater was selected to investigate the dissemination of tet(W) and sul1, two genes conferring resistance to tetracycline and sulfonamide, respectively. Analysis of the abundance of these ARG within the sporobiome (collection of genes of the sporobiota) and correlation with community composition and environmental parameters demonstrated that ARG can spread across the environment with the sporobiota being the dispersal vector. A highly abundant OTU affiliated with the genus Clostridium was identified as a potential specific vector for the dissemination of tet(W), due to a strong correlation with tet(W) frequency (ARG copy numbers/ng DNA). The high dispersal rate, long-term survival, and potential reactivation of the sporobiota constitute a serious concern in terms of dissemination and persistence of ARG in the environment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY