Artículo de investigación publicado en Journal of Environmental Quality

1 de septiembre de 2019

Point sources such as wastewater treatment plants, terrestrial agriculture, and aquaculture may release antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into aquatic ecosystems. However, there is a lack of quantitative studies attributing environmental ARG abundance to specific sources. The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of freshwater trout farms in the release and dissemination of ARGs into the environment. Sediment samples upstream and downstream from five rainbow trout farms were collected over time in southern Chile. A microfluidic quantitative polymerase chain reaction approach was used to quantify an ARG array covering different mechanisms of resistance, and data were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear mixed regression models. Surveys were also conducted to obtain information about management practices, including antibiotic use, at the farms. Florfenicol and oxytetracycline were used at these farms, although at different rates. A total of 93 samples were analyzed. In the PCA, strB, sul1, sul2, qacG, tet(A), tet(B), tet(C), tet(W), and floR grouped together. A statistically significant increase in abundance of qacG, strB, sul1, and several tet genes was found downstream from the farms compared with upstream sites, and retention ponds had the highest ARG abundance at each site. Antibiotic resistance gene levels returned to baseline at an average distance of 132.7 m downstream from the farms. Although results from this study indicate an influence of trout farms on the presence of ARGs in the immediate environment, the extent of their contribution to ARG dissemination is unknown and deserves further investigation

Bueno I., Travis D., Gonzalez-Rocha G., Alvarez J., Lima C., Garcia-Benitez C., Phelps NBD., Wass B., Johnson TJ., Zhang Q., Ishii S. y Singer RS.

Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Freshwater Trout Farms in a Watershed in Chile

Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Freshwater Trout Farms in a Watershed in Chile

	Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. College of Veterinary Medicine. University of Minnesota (UMM).
	Departamento de Microbiología. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas. Universidad de Concepción.
	Laboratorio de Investigación en Agentes Antibacterianos (LIAA). Universidad de Concepción.
	Millennium Nucleus on Interdisciplinary Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance.
	Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Piscicola Entre Rios.
	Wildlife and Conservation Biology. University of Minnesota (UMM).
	BioTechnology Institute. University of Minnesota (UMM).
	Department of Soil, Water, and Climate. University of Minnesota (UMM).