Antibiotic Resistance Genes in freshwate sediments
IdeARG tackled these questions using Lake Maggiore as a model system, namely: Which DNA fraction (chromosomal, plasmid, free DNA, or bacteriophages) contained which ARGs at what frequency? Which freshwater bacteria contained ARGs? Which was the most likely route ARGs took when entering the system? Which factors promoted the maintenance of ARGs in lake sediments? What was the relatedness between environmental ARGs: were they precursors or descendants of clinically relevant ARGs?irst, large genome contigs were assembled from sediments and WWTP outflows to identify DNA fractions with the most ARGs and the bacteria carrying them. Then, an isolation campaign was conducted to obtain pure cultures of ARG-containing freshwater bacteria. Using both natural communities and strains, experiments on horizontal gene transfer and bacterial fitness related to the maintenance of ARGs were conducted.