Prevalence and proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes in two municipal wastewater treatment plants.

The propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is an emerging health concern worldwide. Thus, it is important to understand and mitigate their occurrence in different systems. In this study, 30 ARGs that confer resistance to tetracyclines, sulfonamides, quinolones or macrolides were detected in two activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in northern China.

Tetracycline resistance gene maintenance under varying bacterial growth rate, substrate and oxygen availability, and tetracycline concentration.

Neither amplification nor attenuation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) in the environment are well understood processes. Here, we report on continuous culture and batch experiments to determine how tetracycline (TC), aerobic vs anaerobic conditions, bacterial growth rate, and medium richness affect the maintenance of plasmid-borne TC resistance (Tet(R)) genes. The response of E.

Occurrence and transport of tetracycline, sulfonamide, quinolone, and macrolide antibiotics in the Haihe River Basin, China.

The occurrence and transport of 12 antibiotics (from the tetracycline, sulfonamide, quinolone, and macrolide families) was studied in a 72-km stretch of the Haihe River, China, and in six of its tributaries. Aqueous and sediment samples were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS. Sulfonamides were detected at the highest concentrations (24-385 ng/L) and highest frequencies (76-100%).

Trends in antibiotic resistance genes occurrence in the Haihe River, China.

The occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was quantified in water and sediment samples collected from a 72 km stretch of the Haihe River, China. Tetracycline resistance genes (tetW, tetQ, tetO, tetT, tetM, tetB, and tetS) were not detected by quantitative PCR in many samples. In contrast, sul1 and sul2 (coding for sulfonamide resistance) were present at relatively high concentrations in all (38) samples.

Amplification and attenuation of tetracycline resistance in soil bacteria: aquifer column experiments.

A growing inefficacy of antimicrobial agents to treat infectious diseases has stimulated research on the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria in the environment. Sustained exposure of soil microorganisms to tetracycline (TC) in flow-through columns (50mg/L influent) significantly decreased the effluent concentration of total heterotrophs and selected for TC-resistant (Tet(r)) soil bacteria. This suggests that TC released to the environment from animal farms may contribute to the development and amplification of TC resistance, with soil bacteria serving as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance continuance.