College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China; College of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Engineering, Hebei Key Laboratory of Air Pollution Cause and Impact (preparatory), Handan, 056038, China.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Jan 1;268(Pt B):115620. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115620. Epub 2020 Oct 6.
Inhalation of airborne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) can lead to antimicrobial resistance and potential health risk. In modern society, increasing individuals stay more indoors, however, studies regarding the exposure to airborne ARGs in indoor environments and the associated risks remain limited. Here, we compared the variance of aerosol-associated ARGs, bacterial microbiomes, and their daily intake (DI) burden in dormitory, office, and outdoor environments in a university in Tianjin. The results indicated that compared to outdoor aerosols, indoors exhibited significantly higher absolute abundance of both ARG subtypes and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) (1-7 orders of magnitude), 16S rRNA genes (2-3 orders), and total culturable bacteria (1-3 orders). Furthermore, we observed that significantly different airborne bacterial communities are the major drivers contributing to the variance of aerosol-associated ARGs in indoor and outdoor aerosols. Notably, the high abundances of total bacteria, potential pathogenic genera, and ARGs (particularly those harbored by pathogens) in indoor and outdoor aerosols, especially in indoors, may pose an increased exposure risk via inhalation. The successful isolation of human pathogens such as Elizabethkingia anopheles, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Delftia lacustris resistant to the "last-resort" antibiotics carbapenems and polymyxin B from indoor aerosols further indicated an increased exposure risk in indoors. Together, this study highlights the potential risks associated with ARGs and their inhalation to human health in indoor environments.
空气中抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）的吸入会导致抗生素耐药性，并带来潜在的健康风险。在现代社会中，越来越多的人更多地待在室内，但有关室内环境中空气传播的 ARGs 暴露及其相关风险的研究仍然有限。在这里，我们比较了天津某大学宿舍、办公室和室外环境中气溶胶相关 ARGs、细菌微生物组及其每日摄入量（DI）负担的差异。结果表明，与室外气溶胶相比，室内气溶胶的 ARG 亚型和移动遗传元件（MGEs）（1-7 个数量级）、16S rRNA 基因（2-3 个数量级）和总可培养细菌（1-3 个数量级）的绝对丰度明显更高。此外，我们观察到室内和室外气溶胶中空气传播细菌群落的显著差异是导致气溶胶相关 ARGs 差异的主要驱动因素。值得注意的是，室内和室外气溶胶中总细菌、潜在致病属和 ARGs（特别是那些由病原体携带的 ARGs）的高丰度，尤其是在室内，可能会通过吸入增加暴露风险。从室内气溶胶中成功分离出对“最后手段”抗生素碳青霉烯类和多粘菌素 B 具有耐药性的人类病原体，如嗜水气单胞菌、肺炎克雷伯菌和湖栖德尔特氏菌，进一步表明室内存在更高的暴露风险。总之，这项研究强调了室内环境中 ARGs 及其吸入对人类健康的潜在风险。
