Huang Qianjun, Butaye Patrick, Ng Pok Him, Zhang Ju, Cai Wenlong, St-Hilaire Sophie
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Front Microbiol. 2024 May 13;15:1393266. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1393266. eCollection 2024.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health threat as the silent pandemic. Because of the use of antimicrobials in aquaculture systems, fish farms may be potential reservoirs for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Treatments with disinfectants have been promoted to reduce the use of antibiotics; however, the effect of these types of treatments on AMR or ARGs is not well known. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of low dose ozone treatments (0.15 mg/L) on ARG dynamics in pond water using metagenomic shotgun sequencing analysis. The results suggested that ozone disinfection can increase the relative abundance of acquired ARGs and intrinsic efflux mediated ARGs found in the resistance nodulation cell division (RND) family. Notably, a co-occurrence of efflux and non-efflux ARGs within the same bacterial genera was also observed, with most of these genera dominating the bacterial population following ozone treatments. These findings suggest that ozone treatments may selectively favor the survival of bacterial genera harboring efflux ARGs, which may also have non-efflux ARGs. This study underscores the importance of considering the potential impacts of disinfection practices on AMR gene dissemination particularly in aquaculture settings where disinfectants are frequently used at low levels. Future endeavors should prioritize the evaluation of these strategies, as they may be associated with an increased risk of AMR in aquatic environments.
抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）作为一场无声的大流行，对全球健康构成了重大威胁。由于水产养殖系统中使用了抗菌药物，养鱼场可能是抗菌药物耐药基因（ARGs）传播的潜在储存库。人们一直在推广使用消毒剂进行处理，以减少抗生素的使用；然而，这类处理对抗菌药物耐药性或ARGs的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在使用宏基因组鸟枪法测序分析评估低剂量臭氧处理（0.15毫克/升）对池塘水中ARGs动态的影响。结果表明，臭氧消毒可增加在耐药结瘤细胞分裂（RND）家族中发现的获得性ARGs和内在外排介导的ARGs的相对丰度。值得注意的是，在同一细菌属中还观察到外排和非外排ARGs同时存在，其中大多数属在臭氧处理后主导了细菌群落。这些发现表明，臭氧处理可能会有选择地有利于携带外排ARGs的细菌属的存活，这些细菌属可能也含有非外排ARGs。本研究强调了考虑消毒措施对AMR基因传播的潜在影响的重要性，特别是在经常低水平使用消毒剂的水产养殖环境中。未来的研究应优先评估这些策略，因为它们可能与水生环境中AMR风险增加有关。
