Identification and quantification of antibiotic resistant bacteria & Genes in an aquaculture facility which uses a novel bioactive filtering system

Abstract

The Advanced Biotechnology for Intensive-Freshwater Aquaculture Wastewater Reuse (ABAWARE) project, which is part of the European Commission’s Water Joint Programming Initiative 2016 Joint Call, aims to increase the efficiency and resilience of water use in aquaculture and minimise its negative impact on the environment and human health. This research, which forms one part of the total ABAWARE project, aimed to ascertain the impact of using microbiota and certain plant species, in conjuncture with a more traditional Recirculated Aquaculture System (RAS), as a filtering system had on the arb and G abundance in various samples taken from an aquaculture facility. Sediment and water samples were taken from the inflow, the main fish basin, after the bioactive ponds before filtration, and after filtration. The resistance genes present in these samples were detected using the Wafergen smartchip real-time qPCR system. This system allows for the simultaneous quantification of 348 distinct Antibiotic Resistance Genes for each sample. The samples also underwent microbiome analysis via 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing. Mothur was used to analyse the sequencing data. This data informs us of the changes in the microbial population changes that are enacted by the various stages within the aquaculture facility.