Antibiotic resistance in surface waters from a coastal lagoon of Southern Brazil under the impact of anthropogenic activities

Abstract

Wastes arising from human activities can reach water bodies and contribute significantly to the presence of antibiotic resistant bacterial populations in aquatic environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cultivable antibiotic resistant bacterial populations from a coastal lagoon impacted by agriculture and urbanization activities. Water samples were collected in low and peak season and characterized regarding physicochemical variables, microbiological indicators and the presence of antimicrobial residues. In order to analyze the presence of resistant bacterial populations, the samples were grown in the presence of nalidixic acid, ceftazidime, imipenem and tetracycline. Genes associated with β-lactamic resistance (blaCTX-M-like, blaGES-like, blaOXA-51, blaOXA-23-like, blaSHV-like, blaTEM-like and blaSPM-1), class I integron and efflux systems (tetA, tetB, acrA, acrB, tolC, adeA, adeB, adeR, adeS, mexB, mexD, mexF and mexY) were analyzed by conventional in vitro amplification. Although antimicrobials residues were below the detection limit, resistant bacteria and resistance determinants - blaGES, class I integron, adeS, acrA, acrB, tolC, mexB, mexF - were present at almost all points, in both seasons and for all antimicrobials assessed. The high numbers of resistant bacteria counts observed after the antibiotic treatment were positively correlated to the urbanization effects on the Lagoon. Some resistant populations were even higher in the low season samples, indicating the importance of a systematic evaluation of antibiotic resistance on water resources.

Structure of Bacterial Community with Resistance to Antibiotics in Aquatic Environments. A Systematic Review

“…Of these, there were 128 duplicates, and 16,013 were excluded on the basis of title and abstract screening. A total of 68 studies [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , ...…”

“…These bacteria are abundant in WWTPs in cities in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Sweden, South Korea, and Brazil [ 11 , 41 , 42 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 59 ]. However, they were also determined in treated waters and in natural water systems of marine environments, rivers and lagoons, mainly in Latin American countries [ 34 , 45 , 49 , 50 , 56 , 60 ].…”

“…Concerning types of ARGs in natural water, there is a predominance of bla genes in Africa, Latin America and Europe, with 100%, 45% and 40%, respectively [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 29 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 50 , 59 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 78 ] ( Figure 5 ). In Asian countries, tet genes are reported more frequently (≈15%) [ 14 , 16 , 18 , 70 , 71 ].…”

“…In natural water systems, the bla TEM , bla GES , and bla OXA genes have a frequency greater than 20% in Asian countries [ 16 , 19 , 78 ]. The bla CTX (20%), bla TEM (10%) and bla VIM (10%) genes are more common in Europe [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 22 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 47 ], while bla CTX (19%), bla TEM (14%), bla KPC (14%) and bla VIM (14%) genes are more common in Latin America [ 15 , 25 , 46 , 49 , 50 , 59 ]. Laffite et al [ 67 ] reported an abundance of bla CTX , bla IMP , bla KPC , bla NDM , bla OXA , bla SHV , and bla VIM genes (14% each) in the rivers of Africa.…”

“…In Mexico, the analysis carried out in the Basaseachi waterfall and its main rivers found a higher count of total coliforms in autumn, while in spring the count was lower [ 34 ]. The presence of resistant bacteria and various ARGs ( bla GES , Int-1, adeS, acrA, acrB, tolC, mex B, mex F ) has been shown to remain stable during dry and rainy seasons [ 50 ].…”