Antibiotic resistance of heterotrophic bacteria from the sediments of adjoining high Arctic fjords, Svalbard.

Antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are now considered major global threats. The Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden are the interlinked fjords in the Arctic that are currently experiencing the effects of climate change and receiving input of pollutants from distant and regional sources. The present study focused on understanding the prevalence of antibiotic resistance of retrievable heterotrophic bacteria from the sediments of adjacent Arctic fjords Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden. A total of 237 bacterial isolates were tested against 16 different antibiotics. The higher resistance observed towards Extended Spectrum β-lactam antibiotic (ESBL) includes ceftazidime (45.56%) followed by trimethoprim (27%) and sulphamethizole (24.05%). The extent of resistance was meagre against tetracycline (2.53%) and gentamycin (2.95%). The 16S rRNA sequencing analysis identified that Proteobacteria (56%) were the dominant antibiotic resistant phyla, followed by Firmicutes (35%), Actinobacteria (8%) and Bacteroidetes. The dominant resistant bacterial isolates are Bacillus cereus (10%), followed by Alcaligenes faecalis (6.47%), Cytobacillus firmus (5.75%) Salinibacterium sp. (5%) and Marinobacter antarcticus (5%). Our study reveals the prevalence of antibiotic resistance showed significant differences in both the inner and outer fjords of Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden (p < 0.05). This may be the input of antibiotic resistance bacteria released into the fjords from the preserved permafrost due to the melting of glaciers, horizontal gene transfer, and human influence in the Arctic region act as a selection pressure for the development and dissemination of more antibiotic resistant bacteria in Arctic fjords.