Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2010 Mar 15;44(6):1947-53. doi: 10.1021/es902893f.
Animal feeding operations (AFOs) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are potential sources of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in rivers and/or antibiotics that may select for ARGs in native river bacteria. This study aimed to identify ARG distribution patterns that unambiguously distinguish putative sources of ARG from a native river environment. Such molecular signatures may then be used as tracers of specific anthropogenic sources. Three WWTPs, six AFO lagoons, and three sites along a pristine region of the Cache la Poudre (Poudre) River were compared with respect to the frequency of detection (FOD) of 11 sulfonamide and tetracycline ARGs. Principle-component and correspondence analyses aided in identifying the association of tet(H), tet(Q), tet(S), and tet(T) (tet group HQST) with AFO environments and tet(C), tet(E), and tet(O) (tet group CEO) with WWTPs. Discriminant analysis indicated that both tet group HQST and tet group CEO correctly classified the environments, but only the tet group HQST provided a significant difference in FOD among the environments (p < 0.05). Sul(I) was detected in 100% of the source environments but just once in the pristine Poudre River, which was dominated by tet(M) and tet(W). Tet(W) libraries generated from the pristine Poudre River, WWTPs, and AFO lagoons were also discernible based on restriction fragment length polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis. Thus, a novel approach was developed and demonstrated to be effective for the model river system, taking an important step in advancing the fundamental understanding of ARG transport in the environment.
动物饲养场（AFO）和废水处理厂（WWTP）是河流中抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）和抗生素的潜在来源，这些抗生素可能会选择本地河流细菌中的 ARGs。本研究旨在确定 ARG 分布模式，这些模式可以明确区分 ARG 的潜在来源与本地河流环境。然后，这些分子特征可以用作特定人为来源的示踪剂。对三个 WWTP、六个 AFO 泻湖以及一条原始 Cache la Poudre（Poudre）河的三个地点进行了比较，以比较 11 种磺胺类和四环素类 ARGs 的检出频率（FOD）。主成分和对应分析有助于确定 tet(H)、tet(Q)、tet(S)和 tet(T)（tet 组 HQST）与 AFO 环境的关联，以及 tet(C)、tet(E)和 tet(O)（tet 组 CEO）与 WWTP 的关联。判别分析表明，tet 组 HQST 和 tet 组 CEO 都能正确分类环境，但只有 tet 组 HQST 在环境间的 FOD 上有显著差异（p < 0.05）。磺胺类药物抗性基因 Sul(I)在 100%的源环境中均有检出，但在原始的 Poudre 河仅检出一次，该河流以 tet(M)和 tet(W)为主。基于限制性片段长度多态性和系统发育分析，也可以区分从原始的 Poudre 河、WWTP 和 AFO 泻湖生成的 tet(W)文库。因此，开发了一种新方法，并在模型河流系统中证明了该方法的有效性，这是在推进环境中 ARG 迁移的基本理解方面迈出的重要一步。
