Persistence of antibiotic resistance and plasmid-associated genes in soil following application of sewage sludge and abundance on vegetables at harvest.
Sewage sludge recovered from wastewater treatment plants contains antibiotic residues and is rich in antibiotic resistance genes, selected for and enriched in the digestive tracts of human using antibiotics. The use of sewage sludge as a crop fertilizer constitutes a potential route of human exposure to antibiotic resistance genes through consumption of contaminated crops. Several gene targets associated with antibiotic resistance (catA1, catB3, ereA, ereB, erm(B), str(A), str(B), qnrD, sul1, and mphA), mobile genetic elements (int1, mobA, IncW repA, IncP1 groups -α, -β, -δ, -γ, -ε), and bacterial 16S rRNA (rrnS) were quantified by qPCR from soil and vegetable samples obtained from unamended and sludge-amended plots at an experimental field in London, Ontario. The qPCR data reveals an increase in abundance of gene targets in the soil and vegetables samples, indicating that there is potential for additional crop exposure to antibiotic resistance genes carried within sewage sludge following field application. It is therefore advisable to allow an appropriate delay period before harvesting of vegetables for human consumption.
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.|b Department of Biology and Biotechnological Sciences, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Palapye, Botswana.
Teddie O
TO
Rahube
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.
Romain
R
Marti
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.
Andrew
A
Scott
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.
Yuan-Ching
YC
Tien
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.
Roger
R
Murray
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.
Lyne
L
Sabourin
c Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Peter
P
Duenk
d Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
David R
DR
Lapen
a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada.|c Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Edward
E
Topp
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D005308:Fertilizers; D006801:Humans; D009864:Ontario; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology; D062065:Wastewater
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005308:Fertilizers; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage; D012987:Soil; D062065:Wastewater
antibiotic resistance; boue d’épuration; crop quality; mobile genetic elements; qualité des cultures; qualité des sols; résistance aux antibiotiques; sewage sludge; soil quality; éléments génétiques mobiles