Accumulation of Clinically Relevant Antibiotic-Resistance Genes, Bacterial Load, and Metals in Freshwater Lake Sediments in Central Europe

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) receive the effluents from various sources (communities, industrial, and hospital effluents) and are recognized as reservoir for antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) that are associated with clinical pathogens. The aquatic environment is considered a hot-spot for horizontal gene transfer, and lake sediments offer the opportunity for reconstructing the pollution history and evaluating the impacts. In this context, variation with depth and time of the total bacterial load, the abundance of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB; E. coli and Enterococcus spp. (ENT)), Pseudomonas spp., and ARGs (blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M, blaNDM, and aadA) were quantified in sediment profiles of different parts of Lake Geneva using quantitative PCR. The abundance of bacterial marker genes was identified in sediments contaminated by WWTP following eutrophication of the lake. Additionally, ARGs, including the extended-spectrum ß-lactam- and aminoglycoside-resistance genes, were identified in the surface sediments. The ARG and FIB abundance strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.403, p < 0.05, n = 34) with organic matter and metal concentrations in the sediments, indicating a common and contemporary source of contamination. The contamination of sediments by untreated or partially treated effluent water can affect the quality of ecosystem. Therefore, the reduction of contaminants from the source is recommended for further improvement of water quality.

Evaluation of Water Quality from Suburban Shallow Wells Under Tropical Conditions According to the Seasonal Variation, Bumbu, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…Some recent studies performed in the similar environment demonstrated that the various attributes of watersheds, such as morphological and geological factors, as well as the local socioeconomic conditions, lack of adequate sanitation and uncontrolled landfills can influence the status of surface and ground water bodies through physical, chemical, biological or bacteriological parameters (e.g. Tshibanda et al 2014;Devarajan et al 2015a;Tallar and Suen 2015). The presence of high concentration of soluble ions such NO 3 - Table 3 Average concentration of soluble ions of water samples from selected wells during the dry season (dry) and wet season (wet) (Banks et al 2002).…”

Historical Associations of Molecular Measurements of Escherichia coli and Enterococci to Anthropogenic Activities and Climate Variables in Freshwater Sediment Cores

“…Previously, culturable and molecular measurements of ENT and EC were enumerated from 60 cm beneath the surface sediment in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. 9,36 Both studies further suggest that sediments are long-term reservoirs for FIB that originate in gastrointestinal tracts of humans and or mammals. Attachment of cells to solid particles like sediment may protect the cell wall from degradation with unknown mechanisms.…”

Ecological and Microbiological Characteristics of the Jhelum River in Kashmir Himalaya

“…The aquatic environment is considered a hot-spot for horizontal gene transfer, and lake sediments offer the opportunity for reconstructing the pollution history and evaluating the impacts. The contamination of sediments by untreated or partially treated effluent water can affect the quality of ecosystem [26]. As the gram negative bacteria have a reservoir in the intestines of man and other warm blooded animals, are excreted in feces and are known to survive in the environment but do not reproduce [27].…”