School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK; School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Environ Int. 2019 Apr;125:497-504. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034. Epub 2019 Jan 28.
Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and establishing a benchmark for assessing AR spread. Here, high-throughput qPCR and geochemistry were used to quantify the abundance and diversity of both antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selected mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across eight soil clusters in the Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard in the High Arctic. Relative ARG levels ranged by over two orders of magnitude (10 to 10 copies/16S rRNA gene copy), and showed a gradient of potential human and wildlife impacts across clusters as evidenced by altered geochemical conditions and increased "foreign" ARG abundances (i.e., allochthonous), including bla. Impacted clusters exhibited 100× higher total ARGs and MGEs in tandem with elevated secondary nutrients, especially available P that is typically low and limiting in Arctic soils. In contrast, ARGs in less-impacted clusters correlated strongly to local soil lithology. The most plausible source of exogenous P and allochthonous ARGs in this region is bird and other wildlife guano, disseminated either by local human wastes or via direct carriage and deposition. Regardless of pathway, accumulation of apparent allochthonous ARGs and MGEs in High Arctic soils is concerning, highlighting the importance of characterizing Arctic sites now to establish benchmarks for tracking AR spread around the world.
已知热带和温带地区的土壤是人为驱动获得性抗生素抗性（AR）遗传潜力的汇。相比之下，大多数极地土壤中获得性 AR 的积累不太可能，这为表征背景抗性提供了一个平台，并为评估 AR 传播建立了一个基准。在这里，使用高通量 qPCR 和地球化学方法来定量高北极斯瓦尔巴群岛 Kongsfjorden 地区八个土壤群集中的抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）和选定的移动遗传元件（MGEs）的丰度和多样性。相对 ARG 水平的范围超过两个数量级（10 到 10 拷贝/16S rRNA 基因拷贝），并通过改变地球化学条件和增加“外来”ARGs（即异源）的丰度来证明各个聚类之间存在潜在的人类和野生动物影响的梯度，包括 bla。受影响的聚类显示出 100 倍更高的总 ARGs 和 MGEs，以及升高的次要养分，特别是通常在北极土壤中含量低且有限的可利用磷。相比之下，受影响较小的聚类中的 ARGs 与当地土壤岩性密切相关。该地区外源 P 和异源 ARGs 的最可能来源是鸟类和其他野生动物的粪便，通过当地人类废物或通过直接携带和沉积来传播。无论途径如何，高北极土壤中明显异源 ARGs 和 MGEs 的积累令人担忧，这突显了现在对北极地区进行特征描述以建立跟踪全球 AR 传播基准的重要性。
