title: Spatial patterns in antibiotic resistance among stream bacteria: effects of industrial pollution.
abstract: The spatial distribution of antibiotic resistance to streptomycin and kanamycin was examined in natural bacterial communities of two streams. The proportion of resistant bacteria was substantially higher (P < 0.05) in the midreaches of an industrially perturbed stream, but no such pattern was apparent in an undisturbed reference stream. The highest relative frequency of resistance was found at the confluence of a tributary draining a nuclear reactor and industrial complex. Antibiotic resistance increased with distance upstream from the confluence and was positively correlated (r(2) = 0. 54, P = 0.023) with mercury concentrations in the sediments. When the data for two years were compared, this pattern was stable for streptomycin resistance (paired t test, P < 0.05) but not for kanamycin resistance (P > 0.05). Our results imply that heavy metal pollution may contribute to increased antibiotic resistance through indirect selection.
authors.affiliation: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina 29801, USA. mcarthur@srel.edu
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: McArthur
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Tuckfield
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D007612:Kanamycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D008628:Mercury / Q000494:pharmacology; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007612:Kanamycin; D013752:Tetracycline; D008628:Mercury; D013307:Streptomycin