title: Water Disinfection Byproducts Induce Antibiotic Resistance-Role of Environmental Pollutants in Resistance Phenomena.
abstract: The spread of antibiotic resistance represents a global threat to public health, and has been traditionally attributed to extensive antibiotic uses in clinical and agricultural applications. As a result, researchers have mostly focused on clinically relevant high-level resistance enriched by antibiotics above the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Here, we report that two common water disinfection byproducts (chlorite and iodoacetic acid) had antibiotic-like effects that led to the evolution of resistant E. coli strains under both high (near MICs) and low (sub-MIC) exposure concentrations. The subinhibitory concentrations of DBPs selected strains with resistance higher than those evolved under above-MIC exposure concentrations. In addition, whole-genome analysis revealed distinct mutations in small sets of genes known to be involved in multiple drug and drug-specific resistance, as well as in genes not yet identified to play role in antibiotic resistance. The number and identities of genetic mutations were distinct for either the high versus low sub-MIC concentrations exposure scenarios. This study provides evidence and mechanistic insight into the sub-MIC selection of antibiotic resistance by antibiotic-like environmental pollutants such as disinfection byproducts in water, which may be important contributors to the spread of global antibiotic resistance. The results from this study open an intriguing and profound question on the roles of large amount and various environmental contaminants play in selecting and spreading the antibiotics resistance in the environment.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control (ESPC) State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, China.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University , Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.|Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University , Shanghai, 200433, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University , Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.
authors.forename: Siyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control (ESPC) State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University , Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.
authors.forename: April Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000494:pharmacology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D019807:Iodoacetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D014238:Trichloroacetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D004202:Disinfectants; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D014238:Trichloroacetic Acid; D019807:Iodoacetic Acid; C001599:chlorite