A preliminary investigation on the occurrence and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in the Beijiang River, South China

The occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes （ARGs） was investigated and quantified in 20 water samples collected in the Beijiang River, South China. Sulfonamide- and tetracycline-resistant bacteria were present in 17 and 14 of the collected 20 samples. For sulfonamide ARGs, sulI and sulII were frequently observed in the Beijiang River. The levels of sulI were higher than sulII （p 〈 0.05）, with the mean values of （1.41 ± 1.12） × 10-2 and （1.58 ± 1.71） × 10-3 copies/16S rDNA, respectively. For tetracycline ARGs, tetG had the highest frequency, 100%, followed by tetA （85%）, tetO （85%）, tetC （70%）, tetX （60%）, tetM （40%） and tetQ （20%）, while tetE and tetS were not detected in all the samples from the Beijiang River. On the other hand, tetC had the highest concentration, ranging from 8.30 × 10-2 to 13.20 copies/16S rDNA. The poor correlation between ARGs and antibiotic concentrations revealed that the self-amplification and persistence of ARGs were the reasons that made ARGs exist in the water environment even though the antibiotic selecting pressure was absent. Because so few field measurements have been conducted for investigating the levels of ARGs in rivers in South China, this study provides an important insight on better understanding the occurrence and spread of ARGs in such an ecosystem.

Occurrence and possible sources of antibiotic resistance genes in seawater of the South China Sea

Antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)might have great effect on ecological security and human health.Oceans are important reservoirs that receive tremendous amounts of pollutants globally.However,information on the proliferation of ARGs in seawater is still limited.This study performed field sampling to investigate the occurrence and distribution of ARGs in seawater of the South China Sea,which is the deepest and largest sea in China.The results showed that the total absolute abundances of ARGs in seawater samples ranged from 2.1×10^(3)to 2.3×10^(4)copies/mL,with an of 5.0×10^(3)copies/mL and a range of 2.2×10^(3)–1.8×10^(4)copies/mL for those with mobile genetic elements(MGEs).Genes resistant to multidrug,aminoglycoside,tetracycline,and fluoroquinolone antibiotics accounted for 77.3%–88.6%of total ARGs in seawater.Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria represented 32.1%–56.2%and 30.4%–49.5%of microbial community,respectively.Prochlorococcus_MIT9313 and Clade_la were the prevalent genera in seawater of the South China Sea.Complex co-occurrence relationship existed among ARGs,MGEs,and bacteria.Anthropogenic activities had critical influence on ARGs and MGEs.Hospital wastewater,wastewater treatment plant effluent,sewage,aquaculture tailwater,and runoff were determined as the important sources of ARGs in seawater of the South China Sea based on positive matrix factorization analysis.

北江河水中抗生素抗性基因污染初步研究

环境中细菌的耐药性,尤其是对抗生素的耐药性已成为影响生态环境的重要因素.论文采用抗生素抗性平板法调查了北江河水中四环素、红霉素及磺胺类这3类抗生素耐药性细菌的存在,采用定性PCR及荧光定量PCR方法分别研究了该水域sul1和sul2这2种磺胺类抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）的存在和含量水平.结果表明,所采集北江水域的9个样品中有5个对四环素有耐药性,7个对红霉素有耐药性,8个对磺胺二甲嘧啶有耐药性;定性PCR实验并经基因测序结果证实,5个样品含有sul1,4个样品含有sul2.进一步的PCR定量分析结果显示,7个样品中均检出sul1和sul2磺胺抗性基因,它们与内对照基因16S-rRNA表达量比值分别在10-2.56~10-0.52及10-3.25~10-1.24范围内,该结果显著高于美国科罗拉多州北部河流的研究结果.此外,数据分析也发现,sul1和sul2磺胺抗性基因的含量水平与该区域水中磺胺含量分布具有一定的相关性,表明外源性抗生素对河流的污染是诱导抗性基因的重要因素.