Open AccessAMR Escherichia coli and its temporal and spatial variability within the aquatic environment
Author(s) -
Amelia Odell,
Paul E. Eady,
Ronald Dixon
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
access microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2516-8290
DOI - 10.1099/acmi.ac2020.po0731
Subject(s) - effluent , escherichia coli , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , biological dispersal , veterinary medicine , gene , environmental engineering , environmental science , genetics , medicine , population , environmental health
Phenotypic and genotypic identification methods have been used to determine the temporal and spatial dynamics of AMR- Escherichia coli in a mainly rural watercourse that receives WWTP-effluent compared to a parallel river which does not. We aimed to investigate the incidence of plasmid-mediated mcr-1and β-lactamase-genes in E. coli recovered from both water and Asellus aquaticus samples throughout two-calendar-years. Samples of the water and A. aquaticus were recovered from the relevant locations each month. CHROMagar ESBL agar was used throughout to isolate and identify ESBL- E. coli . The presence of AMR-genes was confirmed using the ‘BSAC’ antibiotic-disk-synergy method and PCR analysis to confirm the presence of mcr-1and ESBL-genes. The CHROMagar ESBL agar was found to be 99.7% (n=578) accurate when confirmed with a PCR analysis of the ESBL-genes. Seventy-six-point-six percent (n=449) of the isolated ESBL- E. coli were correctly identified as ESBL-producing organisms using the ‘BSAC’ method. Interestingly 61.9% (n=358) of the ESBL- E. coli were also found to carry the mcr-1 gene. Our data shows that AMR levels were highest at the WWTP-effluent throughout the two-years for both water and A. aquaticus samples. The incidence of AMR- E. coli 1km downstream of the effluent discharge was equivalent to the parallel river sites, suggesting that the dispersal of AMR from the WWTP-effluent is limited, although AMR- E. coli were found in relatively high numbers at the WWTP-effluent. We argue that the presence of AMR in the freshwater invertebrate A. aquaticus could represent an important route by which AMR can spread from the aquatic environment to the terrestrial environment.