title: Prevalence of sulfonamide-resistant bacteria, resistance genes and integron-associated horizontal gene transfer in natural water bodies and soils adjacent to a swine feedlot in northern Taiwan.
abstract: Antibiotics are commonly used in swine feed to treat and prevent disease, as well as to promote growth. Antibiotics released into the environment via wastewater could accelerate the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in the surrounding environment. In this study, we quantified the occurrence of sulfonamides, sulfonamide-resistant microorganisms and resistance genes in the wastewater from a swine farm in northern Taiwan and its surrounding natural water bodies and soils. Sulfonamide levels were similar in the receiving downstream and upstream river water. However, the prevalence of sulfonamide-resistant bacteria and resistance genes, as analyzed by cultivation-dependent and -independent molecular approaches, was significantly greater in the downstream compared to the upstream river water samples. Barcoded-pyrosequencing revealed a highly diverse bacterial community structure in each sample. However, the sequence identity of the sulfonamide resistance gene sul1 in the wastewater and downstream environment samples was nearly identical (99-100%). The sul1 gene, which is genetically linked to class 1 integrons, was dominant in the downstream water bodies and soils. In conclusion, the increased prevalence of sulfonamide resistance genes in the wastewater from a swine farm, independent of the persistent presence of sulfonamides, could be a potential source of resistant gene pools in the surrounding environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Jih-Tay
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chia-Yang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chu-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Wei-Liang
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Mao-Hao
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yung-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chu-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: cying@scu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chingwen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ying
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000187:drug effects*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D032023:Integrons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D012988:Soil Microbiology / Q000592:standards; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013624:Taiwan; D014871:Water Microbiology / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008372:Manure; D013449:Sulfonamides
keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Horizontal gene transfer; Integrons; Microbial community structure; Swine wastewater