Challenges in the Measurement of Antibiotics and in Evaluating Their Impacts in Agroecosystems: A Critical Review

Aga, Diana S.; Lenczewski, Melissa; Snow, Daniel D.; Muurinen, Johanna; Sallach, J. Brett; Wallace, Joshua S.

doi:10.2134/jeq2015.07.0393

Cited by 97 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 148 publications

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“…Toxicological and AMR selection risks cannot be easily predicted from solely knowing the concentration of antibiotics, metals and biocides owing to significant uncertainties in bioavailability (Jechalke et al, 2014; Aga et al, 2016). Fluoroquinolones have been shown to be relatively biounavailable in some sludge amended soils, which was not correlated with any significant change to the ecosystem services: nitrification and denitrification; however, community structure and other ecosystem services might have been impacted, but were not examined (Rosendahl et al, 2012).…”

Section: Drivers Of Resistance: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Relevance to Environmental Regulators

et al. 2016

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The environment is increasingly being recognized for the role it might play in the global spread of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance. Environmental regulators monitor and control many of the pathways responsible for the release of resistance-driving chemicals into the environment (e.g., antimicrobials, metals, and biocides). Hence, environmental regulators should be contributing significantly to the development of global and national antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plans. It is argued that the lack of environment-facing mitigation actions included in existing AMR action plans is likely a function of our poor fundamental understanding of many of the key issues. Here, we aim to present the problem with AMR in the environment through the lens of an environmental regulator, using the Environment Agency (England’s regulator) as an example from which parallels can be drawn globally. The issues that are pertinent to environmental regulators are drawn out to answer: What are the drivers and pathways of AMR? How do these relate to the normal work, powers and duties of environmental regulators? What are the knowledge gaps that hinder the delivery of environmental protection from AMR? We offer several thought experiments for how different mitigation strategies might proceed. We conclude that: (1) AMR Action Plans do not tackle all the potentially relevant pathways and drivers of AMR in the environment; and (2) AMR Action Plans are deficient partly because the science to inform policy is lacking and this needs to be addressed.

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Section: Drivers Of Resistance: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Relevance to Environmental Regulators

et al. 2016

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“…Environmental contamination by antibiotic residues in food production systems is a growing problem worldwide, and the potential implications to proliferation of antibiotic resistance have been the subject of multiple reviews and opinion articles [58][59][60]. The occurrence of persistent antibiotic residues in various water sources [61,62] is well documented which not only includes municipal [63,64], agricultural [65,66] and hospital sewage [67,68] but also groundwater [69] and surface water [70][71][72]. The concentration range of antibiotics is generally measured at ng L −1 to a few µg L −1 in many water sources [73], though concentrated wastewater can have much higher levels [65].…”

Section: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The occurrence of persistent antibiotic residues in various water sources [61,62] is well documented which not only includes municipal [63,64], agricultural [65,66] and hospital sewage [67,68] but also groundwater [69] and surface water [70][71][72]. The concentration range of antibiotics is generally measured at ng L −1 to a few µg L −1 in many water sources [73], though concentrated wastewater can have much higher levels [65]. Recent studies have demonstrated that plants can take up antibiotics (like amoxicillin, ketoconazole, lincomycin, oxytetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines) [74][75][76] and antibiotic contaminated irrigation water can play a significant role in the uptake [77].…”

Section: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective

Malakar

Snow

Ray

2019

Water

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In the race to enhance agricultural productivity, irrigation will become more dependent on poorly characterized and virtually unmonitored sources of water. Increased use of irrigation water has led to impaired water and soil quality in many areas. Historically, soil salinization and reduced crop productivity have been the primary focus of irrigation water quality. Recently, there is increasing evidence for the occurrence of geogenic contaminants in water. The appearance of trace elements and an increase in the use of wastewater has highlighted the vulnerability and complexities of the composition of irrigation water and its role in ensuring proper crop growth, and long-term food quality. Analytical capabilities of measuring vanishingly small concentrations of biologically-active organic contaminants, including steroid hormones, plasticizers, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, in a variety of irrigation water sources provide the means to evaluate uptake and occurrence in crops but do not resolve questions related to food safety or human health effects. Natural and synthetic nanoparticles are now known to occur in many water sources, potentially altering plant growth and food standard. The rapidly changing quality of irrigation water urgently needs closer attention to understand and predict long-term effects on soils and food crops in an increasingly fresh-water stressed world.

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“…Not only is the wide variety of antibiotic compounds of concern, but some of their transformation products and metabolites may also affect biological activity and therefore need to be considered when conducting environmental studies. Aga et al (2016) examine the state of the science for detection, quantification, and risk assessment of antibiotics and their transformation products in the agroecosystem.…”

Section: Challenges In the Measurement Of Antibiotics And In Evaluatimentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibiotics in Agroecosystems: Introduction to the Special Section

et al. 2016

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The presence of antibiotic drug residues, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes in agroecosystems has become a significant area of research in recent years and is a growing public health concern. While antibiotics are used in both human medicine and agricultural practices, the majority of their use occurs in animal production where historically they have been used for growth promotion, in addition to the prevention and treatment of disease. The widespread use of antibiotics and the application of animal wastes to agricultural lands play major roles in the introduction of antibiotic‐related contamination into the environment. Overt toxicity in organisms directly exposed to antibiotics in agroecosystems is typically not a major concern because environmental concentrations are generally lower than therapeutic doses. However, the impacts of introducing antibiotic contaminants into the environment are unknown, and concerns have been raised about the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. Despite increased research focused on the occurrence and fate of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance over the past decade, standard methods and practices for analyzing environmental samples are limited and future research needs are becoming evident. To highlight and address these issues in detail, this special collection of papers was developed with a framework of five core review papers that address the (i) overall state of science of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems using a causal model, (ii) chemical analysis of antibiotics found in the environment, (iii) need for background and baseline data for studies of antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems with a decision‐making tool to assist in designing research studies, as well as (iv) culture‐ and (v) molecular‐based methods for analyzing antibiotic resistance in the environment. With a focus on the core review papers, this introduction summarizes the current state of science for analyzing antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems, discusses current knowledge gaps, and develops future research priorities. This introduction also contains a glossary of terms used in the core reivew papers of this special section. The purpose of the glossary is to provide a common terminology that clearly characterizes the concepts shared throughout the narratives of each review paper. Core Ideas Antibiotic resistant bacteria are an emerging threat to human, animal, and ecological health. Agroecosystems often contain elevated levels of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. The impact of antibiotics at low concentrations in the environment is not fully known. Research is needed to understand the spread of antibiotic resistance within and beyond agroecosystems. Standardized approaches will help bring a consensus among scientific community datasets.

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Challenges in the Measurement of Antibiotics and in Evaluating Their Impacts in Agroecosystems: A Critical Review

Cited by 97 publications

References 148 publications

Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Relevance to Environmental Regulators

Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Relevance to Environmental Regulators

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective

Antibiotics in Agroecosystems: Introduction to the Special Section

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