Abstract
Water samples were collected at several wastewater treatment plants in southeast Florida, and water and sediment samples were collected along and around one outfall pipe, as well as along several transects extending both north and south of the respective outfall outlet. Two sets of samples were collected to address potential seasonal differences, including 38 in the wet season (June 2018) and 42 in the dry season (March 2019). Samples were screened for the presence/absence of 15 select antibiotic resistance gene targets using the polymerase chain reaction. A contrast between seasons was found, with a higher frequency of detections occurring in the wet season and fewer during the dry season. These data illustrate an anthropogenic influence on offshore microbial genetics and seasonal flux regarding associated health risks to recreational users and the regional ecosystem.
Highlights
Antibiotic resistance has recently been recognized as an emerging environmental contaminant, and molecular methods that identify these genes in microbial populations have proven to be useful tools in assessing anthropogenic impacts in terrestrial and aquatic environments [1]
The southeast Florida wet season sample set was composed of six wastewater samples collected at three different wastewater treatment plants (Broward/North, Hollywood, and Miami-Dade/North), their respective outfalls, and 32 sediment samples collected at those outfalls, and in an array and along transects centered on the Hollywood outfall
Seven of the fifteen antibiotic resistance genes were detected in the wastewater treatment plant samples/outlet boil samples and six were detected in the offshore sediment samples. tetB, ermB and tetQ were only detected in the wastewater samples and tetO and aadA2 were only detected in the sediment samples. tetL, tetM, blaSHV, blaPSE, floR and tetG were not detected in any of these samples
Summary
Antibiotic resistance has recently been recognized as an emerging environmental contaminant, and molecular methods that identify these genes in microbial populations have proven to be useful tools in assessing anthropogenic impacts in terrestrial and aquatic environments [1]. Current estimates for antibiotic resistant infections in the United States of America are 2 million cases annually, of which approximately 23,000 are fatal [3]. The cost associated with these types of infections is approximately 5.8 trillion. In the absence of mitigation, deaths from antibiotic resistant microorganisms may surpass those caused by cancer by 2050, with an estimated economic impact of approximately 100 trillion USD [5]. The presence of antibiotic resistant microorganisms in marine sediments at a polluted site in Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, was greater than that observed at three other
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