The role of aquatic ecosystems as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. - Related Documents




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651801.0000The role of aquatic ecosystems as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. Although antibiotic resistance has become a major threat to human health worldwide, this phenomenon has been largely overlooked in studies in environmental settings. Aquatic environments may provide an ideal setting for the acquisition and dissemination of antibiotic resistance, because they are frequently impacted by anthropogenic activities. This review focuses primarily on the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environment, with a special emphasis on the role of antibiotic resistance genes.201424289955
646410.9999The potential contribution of aquatic wildlife to antibiotic resistance dissemination in freshwater ecosystems: A review. Antibiotic resistance (AR) is one of the major health threats of our time. The presence of antibiotics in the environment and their continuous release from sewage treatment plants, chemical manufacturing plants and animal husbandry, agriculture and aquaculture, result in constant selection pressure on microbial organisms. This presence leads to the emergence, mobilization, horizontal gene transfer and a selection of antibiotic resistance genes, resistant bacteria and mobile genetic elements. Under these circumstances, aquatic wildlife is impacted in all compartments, including freshwater organisms with partially impermeable microbiota. In this narrative review, recent advancements in terms of occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in sewage treatment plant effluents source compared to freshwater have been examined, occurrence of antibiotic resistance in wildlife, as well as experiments on antibiotic exposure. Based on this current state of knowledge, we propose the hypothesis that freshwater aquatic wildlife may play a crucial role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance within the environment. Specifically, we suggest that organisms with high bacterial density tissues, which are partially isolated from the external environment, such as fishes and amphibians, could potentially be reservoirs and amplifiers of antibiotic resistance in the environment, potentially favoring the increase of the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and resistant bacteria. Potential avenues for further research (trophic transfer, innovative exposure experiment) and action (biodiversity eco-engineering) are finally proposed.202438599270
651420.9999Review of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes within the one health framework. Background: The interdisciplinary One Health (OH) approach recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are all interconnected. Its ultimate goal is to promote optimal health for all through the exploration of these relationships. Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a public health challenge that has been primarily addressed within the context of human health and clinical settings. However, it has become increasingly evident that antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that confer resistance are transmitted and circulated within humans, animals, and the environment. Therefore, to effectively address this issue, antibiotic resistance must also be considered an environmental and livestock/wildlife problem. Objective: This review was carried out to provide a broad overview of the existence of ARB and ARGs in One Health settings. Methods: Relevant studies that placed emphasis on ARB and ARGs were reviewed and key findings were accessed that illustrate the importance of One Health as a measure to tackle growing public and environmental threats. Results: In this review, we delve into the complex interplay of the three components of OH in relation to ARB and ARGs. Antibiotics used in animal husbandry and plants to promote growth, treat, and prevent infectious diseases lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animals. These bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans through food and environmental exposure. The environment plays a critical role in the circulation and persistence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes, posing a significant threat to human and animal health. This article also highlights how ARGs are spread in the environment through the transfer of genetic material between bacteria. This transfer can occur naturally or through human activities such as the use of antibiotics in agriculture and waste management practices. Conclusion: It is important to integrate the One Health approach into the public health system to effectively tackle the emergence and spread of ARB and genes that code for resistance to different antibiotics.202438371518
646830.9999Impact of anthropogenic activities on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance across ecological boundaries. Antibiotics are considered to be one of the major medical breakthroughs in history. Nonetheless, over the past four decades, antibiotic resistance has reached alarming levels worldwide and this trend is expected to continue to increase, leading some experts to forecast the coming of a 'post-antibiotic' era. Although antibiotic resistance in pathogens is traditionally linked to clinical environments, there is a rising concern that the global propagation of antibiotic resistance is also associated with environmental reservoirs that are linked to anthropogenic activities such as animal husbandry, agronomic practices and wastewater treatment. It is hypothesized that the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) within and between environmental microbial communities can ultimately contribute to the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens. Nonetheless, the scope of this phenomenon is not clear due to the complexity of microbial communities in the environment and methodological constraints that limit comprehensive in situ evaluation of microbial genomes. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding antibiotic resistance in non-clinical environments, specifically focusing on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance across ecological boundaries and the contribution of this phenomenon to global antibiotic resistance.201728258226
664040.9999The incidence of antibiotic resistance within and beyond the agricultural ecosystem: A concern for public health. The agricultural ecosystem creates a platform for the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, which is promoted by the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the veterinary, agricultural, and medical sectors. This results in the selective pressure for the intrinsic and extrinsic development of the antimicrobial resistance phenomenon, especially within the aquaculture-animal-manure-soil-water-plant nexus. The existence of antimicrobial resistance in the environment has been well documented in the literature. However, the possible transmission routes of antimicrobial agents, their resistance genes, and naturally selected antibiotic-resistant bacteria within and between the various niches of the agricultural environment and humans remain poorly understood. This study, therefore, outlines an overview of the discovery and development of commonly used antibiotics; the timeline of resistance development; transmission routes of antimicrobial resistance in the agro-ecosystem; detection methods of environmental antimicrobial resistance determinants; factors involved in the evolution and transmission of antibiotic resistance in the environment and the agro-ecosystem; and possible ways to curtail the menace of antimicrobial resistance.202032710495
646350.9999Antibiotic resistance in urban aquatic environments: can it be controlled? Over the last decade, numerous evidences have contributed to establish a link between the natural and human-impacted environments and the growing public health threat that is the antimicrobial resistance. In the environment, in particular in areas subjected to strong anthropogenic pressures, water plays a major role on the transformation and transport of contaminants including antibiotic residues, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes. Therefore, the urban water cycle, comprising water abstraction, disinfection, and distribution for human consumption, and the collection, treatment, and delivery of wastewater to the environment, is a particularly interesting loop to track the fate of antibiotic resistance in the environment and to assess the risks of its transmission back to humans. In this article, the relevance of different transepts of the urban water cycle on the potential enrichment and spread of antibiotic resistance is reviewed. According to this analysis, some gaps of knowledge, research needs, and control measures are suggested. The critical rationale behind the measures suggested and the desirable involvement of some key action players is also discussed.201626649735
655560.9999Bacteriophages as antibiotic resistance genes carriers in agro-food systems. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are a global health concern. Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process of antibiotic resistance emergency, which has been aggravated by exposure to molecules of antibiotics present in clinical and agricultural settings and the engagement of many countries in water reuse especially in Middle East and North Africa region. Bacteriophages have the potential to be significant actors in ARGs transmission through the transduction process. These viruses have been detected along with ARGs in non impacted habitats and in anthropogenic impacted environments like wastewater, reclaimed water and manure amended soil as well as minimally processed food and ready to eat vegetables. The ubiquity of bacteriophages and their persistence in the environment raises concern about their involvement in ARGs transmission among different biomes and the generation of pathogenic-resistant bacteria that pose a great threat to human health. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the potential role of bacteriophages in the dissemination and the transfer of ARGs to pathogens in food production and processing and the consequent contribution to antibiotic resistance transmission through faecal oral route carrying ARGs to our dishes.202132916015
651970.9999Understanding the Interplay between Antimicrobial Resistance, Microplastics and Xenobiotic Contaminants: A Leap towards One Health? According to the World Health Organization, the two major public health threats in the twenty-first century are antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes. The reason for the global prevalence and the constant increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is owed to the steady rise in overall antimicrobial consumption in several medical, domestic, agricultural, industrial, and veterinary applications, with consequent environmental release. These antibiotic residues may directly contaminate terrestrial and aquatic environments in which antibiotic-resistance genes are also present. Reports suggest that metal contamination is one of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Moreover, the abundance of antibiotic-resistance genes is directly connected to the predominance of metal concentrations in the environment. In addition, microplastics have become a threat as emerging contaminants because of their ubiquitous presence, bio-inertness, toughness, danger to aquatic life, and human health implications. In the environment, microplastics and AMR are interconnected through biofilms, where genetic information (e.g., ARGs) is horizontally transferred between bacteria. From this perspective, we tried to summarize what is currently known on this topic and to propose a more effective One Health policy to tackle these threats.202236612363
651580.9999Environmental antimicrobial resistance and its drivers: a potential threat to public health. Imprudent and overuse of clinically relevant antibiotics in agriculture, veterinary and medical sectors contribute to the global epidemic increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). There is a growing concern among researchers and stakeholders that the environment acts as an AMR reservoir and plays a key role in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Various drivers are contributing factors to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their ARGs either directly through antimicrobial drug use in health care, agriculture/livestock and the environment or antibiotic residues released from various domestic settings. Resistant micro-organisms and their resistance genes enter the soil, air, water and sediments through various routes or hotspots such as hospital wastewater, agricultural waste or wastewater treatment plants. Global mitigation strategies primarily involve the identification of high-risk environments that are responsible for the evolution and spread of resistance. Subsequently, AMR transmission is affected by the standards of infection control, sanitation, access to clean water, access to assured quality antimicrobials and diagnostics, travel and migration. This review provides a brief description of AMR as a global concern and the possible contribution of different environmental drivers to the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or ARGs through various mechanisms. We also aim to highlight the key knowledge gaps that hinder environmental regulators and mitigation strategies in delivering environmental protection against AMR.202134454098
652390.9999Antibiotic resistant genes in the environment-exploring surveillance methods and sustainable remediation strategies of antibiotics and ARGs. Antibiotic Resistant Genes (ARGs) are an emerging environmental health threat due to the potential change in the human microbiome and selection for the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria has caused a global health burden. The WHO (world health organization) predicts a rise in deaths due to antibiotic resistant infections. Since bacteria can acquire ARGs through horizontal transmission, it is important to assess the dissemination of antibioticresistant genes from anthropogenic sources. There are several sources of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes in the environment. These include wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate, agricultural, animal industrial sources and estuaries. The use of antibiotics is a worldwide practice that has resulted in the evolution of resistance to antibiotics. Our review provides a more comprehensive look into multiple sources of ARG's and antibiotics rather than one. Moreover, we focus on effective surveillance methods of ARGs and antibiotics and sustainable abiotic and biotic remediation strategies for removal and reduction of antibiotics and ARGs from both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Further, we consider the impact on public health as this problem cannot be addressed without a global transdisciplinary effort.202236037921
4097100.9999Gain and loss of antibiotic resistant genes in multidrug resistant bacteria: One Health perspective. The emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a global health threat due to the increasing unnecessary use of antibiotics. Multidrug resistant bacteria occur mainly by accumulating resistance genes on mobile genetic elements (MGEs), made possible by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Humans and animal guts along with natural and engineered environments such as wastewater treatment plants and manured soils have proven to be the major reservoirs and hotspots of spreading antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). As those environments support the dissemination of MGEs through the complex interactions that take place at the human-animal-environment interfaces, a growing One Health challenge is for multiple sectors to communicate and work together to prevent the emergence and spread of MDR bacteria. However, maintenance of ARGs in a bacterial chromosome and/or plasmids in the environments might place energy burdens on bacterial fitness in the absence of antibiotics, and those unnecessary ARGs could eventually be lost. This review highlights and summarizes the current investigations into the gain and loss of ARG genes in MDR bacteria among human-animal-environment interfaces. We also suggest alternative treatments such as combinatory therapies or sequential use of different classes of antibiotics/adjuvants, treatment with enzyme-inhibitors, and phage therapy with antibiotics to solve the MDR problem from the perspective of One Health issues.202133877574
4096110.9999Environmental hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes. Bacterial resistance toward broad-spectrum antibiotics has become a major concern in recent years. The threat posed by the infectious bacteria and the pace with which resistance determinants are transmitted needs to be deciphered. Soil and water contain unique and diverse microbial communities as well as pools of naturally occurring antibiotics resistant genes. Overuse of antibiotics along with poor sanitary practices expose these indigenous microbial communities to antibiotic resistance genes from other bacteria and accelerate the process of acquisition and dissemination. Clinical settings, where most antibiotics are prescribed, are hypothesized to serve as a major hotspot. The predisposition of the surrounding environments to a pool of antibiotic-resistant bacteria facilitates rapid antibiotic resistance among the indigenous microbiota in the soil, water, and clinical environments via horizontal gene transfer. This provides favorable conditions for the development of more multidrug-resistant pathogens. Limitations in detecting gene transfer mechanisms have likely left us underestimating the role played by the surrounding environmental hotspots in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This review aims to identify the major drivers responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance and hotspots responsible for the acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes.202134180594
6459120.9999Aquatic systems: maintaining, mixing and mobilising antimicrobial resistance? Bacteria showing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pose a significant global healthcare problem. Although many mechanisms conferring AMR are understood, the ecological processes facilitating its persistence and spread are less well characterised. Aquatic systems represent an important milieu for the environmental release, mixing, persistence and spread of AMR bacteria and resistance genes associated with horizontally transferable genetic elements. Additionally, owing to the use and discharge of antimicrobials and biocides, and the accumulation and abundance of other pollutants, mechanisms that confer AMR might evolve in aquatic systems. In this review, we hypothesise that aquatic systems have an important ecological and evolutionary role in driving the persistence, emergence and spread of AMR, which could have consequences when attempting to reduce its occurrence in clinical settings.201121458879
6704130.9999Gut microbiota research nexus: One Health relationship between human, animal, and environmental resistomes. The emergence and rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance is of global public health concern. The gut microbiota harboring diverse commensal and opportunistic bacteria that can acquire resistance via horizontal and vertical gene transfers is considered an important reservoir and sink of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this review, we describe the reservoirs of gut ARGs and their dynamics in both animals and humans, use the One Health perspective to track the transmission of ARG-containing bacteria between humans, animals, and the environment, and assess the impact of antimicrobial resistance on human health and socioeconomic development. The gut resistome can evolve in an environment subject to various selective pressures, including antibiotic administration and environmental and lifestyle factors (e.g., diet, age, gender, and living conditions), and interventions through probiotics. Strategies to reduce the abundance of clinically relevant antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance determinants in various environmental niches are needed to ensure the mitigation of acquired antibiotic resistance. With the help of effective measures taken at the national, local, personal, and intestinal management, it will also result in preventing or minimizing the spread of infectious diseases. This review aims to improve our understanding of the correlations between intestinal microbiota and antimicrobial resistance and provide a basis for the development of management strategies to mitigate the antimicrobial resistance crisis.202338818274
6521140.9999Hiding in plain sight-wildlife as a neglected reservoir and pathway for the spread of antimicrobial resistance: a narrative review. Antimicrobial resistance represents a global health problem, with infections due to pathogenic antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) predicted to be the most frequent cause of human mortality by 2050. The phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance has spread to and across all ecological niches, and particularly in livestock used for food production with antimicrobials consumed in high volumes. Similarly, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are recognized as significant 'hotspots' of ARB and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs); however, over the past decade, new and previously overlooked ecological niches are emerging as hidden reservoirs of ARB/ARGs. Increasingly extensive and intensive industrial activities, degradation of natural environments, burgeoning food requirements, urbanization, and global climatic change have all dramatically affected the evolution and proliferation of ARB/ARGs, which now stand at extremely concerning ecological levels. While antimicrobial resistant bacteria and genes as they originate and emanate from livestock and human hosts have been extensively studied over the past 30 years, numerous ecological niches have received considerably less attention. In the current descriptive review, the authors have sought to highlight the importance of wildlife as sources/reservoirs, pathways and receptors of ARB/ARGs in the environment, thus paving the way for future primary research in these areas.202235425978
6639150.9999Environmental Spread of Antibiotic Resistance. Antibiotic resistance represents a global health concern. Soil, water, livestock and plant foods are directly or indirectly exposed to antibiotics due to their agricultural use or contamination. This selective pressure has acted synergistically to bacterial competition in nature to breed antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria. Research over the past few decades has focused on the emergence of AR pathogens in food products that can cause disease outbreaks and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), but One Health approaches have lately expanded the focus to include commensal bacteria as ARG donors. Despite the attempts of national and international authorities of developed and developing countries to reduce the over-prescription of antibiotics to humans and the use of antibiotics as livestock growth promoters, the selective flow of antibiotic resistance transmission from the environment to the clinic (and vice-versa) is increasing. This review focuses on the mechanisms of ARG transmission and the hotspots of antibiotic contamination resulting in the subsequent emergence of ARGs. It follows the transmission of ARGs from farm to plant and animal food products and provides examples of the impact of ARG flow to clinical settings. Understudied and emerging antibiotic resistance selection determinants, such as heavy metal and biocide contamination, are also discussed here.202134071771
3984160.9999Antimicrobial and the Resistances in the Environment: Ecological and Health Risks, Influencing Factors, and Mitigation Strategies. Antimicrobial contamination and antimicrobial resistance have become global environmental and health problems. A large number of antimicrobials are used in medical and animal husbandry, leading to the continuous release of residual antimicrobials into the environment. It not only causes ecological harm, but also promotes the occurrence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The role of environmental factors in antimicrobial contamination and the spread of antimicrobial resistance is often overlooked. There are a large number of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes in human beings, which increases the likelihood that pathogenic bacteria acquire resistance, and also adds opportunities for human contact with antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. In this paper, we review the fate of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance in the environment, including the occurrence, spread, and impact on ecological and human health. More importantly, this review emphasizes a number of environmental factors that can exacerbate antimicrobial contamination and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. In the future, the timely removal of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment will be more effective in alleviating antimicrobial contamination and antimicrobial resistance.202336851059
6466170.9999The antibiotic resistome: gene flow in environments, animals and human beings. The antibiotic resistance is natural in bacteria and predates the human use of antibiotics. Numerous antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been discovered to confer resistance to a wide range of antibiotics. The ARGs in natural environments are highly integrated and tightly regulated in specific bacterial metabolic networks. However, the antibiotic selection pressure conferred by the use of antibiotics in both human medicine and agriculture practice leads to a significant increase of antibiotic resistance and a steady accumulation of ARGs in bacteria. In this review, we summarized, with an emphasis on an ecological point of view, the important research progress regarding the collective ARGs (antibiotic resistome) in bacterial communities of natural environments, human and animals, i.e., in the one health settings.We propose that the resistance gene flow in nature is "from the natural environments" and "to the natural environments"; human and animals, as intermediate recipients and disseminators, contribute greatly to such a resistance gene "circulation."201728500429
3990180.9999Environmental pollution by antibiotics and by antibiotic resistance determinants. Antibiotics are among the most successful drugs used for human therapy. However, since they can challenge microbial populations, they must be considered as important pollutants as well. Besides being used for human therapy, antibiotics are extensively used for animal farming and for agricultural purposes. Residues from human environments and from farms may contain antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes that can contaminate natural environments. The clearest consequence of antibiotic release in natural environments is the selection of resistant bacteria. The same resistance genes found at clinical settings are currently disseminated among pristine ecosystems without any record of antibiotic contamination. Nevertheless, the effect of antibiotics on the biosphere is wider than this and can impact the structure and activity of environmental microbiota. Along the article, we review the impact that pollution by antibiotics or by antibiotic resistance genes may have for both human health and for the evolution of environmental microbial populations.200919560847
6556190.9999Antibiotic resistance in urban runoff. Aquatic ecosystems subjected to anthropogenic pressures are places of rapid evolution of microbial communities and likely hotspots for selection and emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In urban settings, water quality and the risk of infection are generally assessed in sewers and in effluents of wastewater treatment plants. Physical and chemical parameters as well as the presence of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes of resistance are driven by urban activities, with adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. In this paper we review the environmental pressures exerted on bacterial communities in urban runoff waters and discuss the impact of these settings on antibiotic resistance. Considering the worrisome epidemiology of infectious diseases and estimated mortality due to antimicrobial resistance in the coming decades, there is an urgent need to identify all environmental reservoirs of resistant bacteria and resistance genes to complete our knowledge of the epidemiological cycle and of the dynamics of urban antibiotic resistance.201930826682