Publication
Title
Study of antibiotic resistance in freshwater ecosystems with low anthropogenic impact
Author
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the bacterial diversity and the background level of antibiotic resistance in two freshwater ecosystems with low anthropogenic impact in order to evaluate the presence of natural antimicrobial resistance in these areas and its potential to spread downstream. Water samples from a pre-Alpine and an Apennine river (Variola and Tiber, respectively) were collected in three different sampling campaigns and bacterial diversity was assessed by 16S sequencing, while the presence of bacteria resistant to five antibiotics was screened using a culturable approach. Overall bacterial load was higher in the Tiber River compared with the Variola River. Furthermore, the study revealed the presence of resistant bacteria, especially the Tiber River showed, for each sampling, the presence of resistance to all antibiotics tested, while for the Variola River, the detected resistance was variable, comprising two or more antibiotics. Screening of two resistance genes on a total of one hundred eighteen bacterial isolates from the two rivers showed that blaTEM, conferring resistance to f3-lactam antibiotics, was dominant and present in -58 % of isolates compared to only -9 % for mefA/E conferring resistance to macrolides. Moreover, f3-lactam resistance was detected in various isolates showing also resistance to additional antibiotics such as macrolides, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines. These
Language
English
Source (journal)
The science of the total environment. - Amsterdam, 1972, currens
Publication
Amsterdam : 2023
ISSN
0048-9697 [print]
1879-1026 [online]
DOI
10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.159378
Volume/pages
857 :3 (2023) , 13 p.
Article Reference
159378
ISI
000907154900004
Pubmed ID
36272475
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Research group
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 27.11.2023
Last edited 25.04.2024
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