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640800.9941Antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants: Tackling the black box. Wastewater is among the most important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance in urban environments. The abundance of carbon sources and other nutrients, a variety of possible electron acceptors such as oxygen or nitrate, the presence of particles onto which bacteria can adsorb, or a fairly stable pH and temperature are examples of conditions favouring the remarkable diversity of microorganisms in this peculiar habitat. The wastewater microbiome brings together bacteria of environmental, human and animal origins, many harbouring antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although numerous factors contribute, mostly in a complex interplay, for shaping this microbiome, the effect of specific potential selective pressures such as antimicrobial residues or metals, is supposedly determinant to dictate the fate of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and ARGs during wastewater treatment. This paper aims to enrich the discussion on the ecology of ARB&ARGs in urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs), intending to serve as a guide for wastewater engineers or other professionals, who may be interested in studying or optimizing the wastewater treatment for the removal of ARB&ARGs. Fitting this aim, the paper overviews and discusses: i) aspects of the complexity of the wastewater system and/or treatment that may affect the fate of ARB&ARGs; ii) methods that can be used to explore the resistome, meaning the whole ARB&ARGs, in wastewater habitats; and iii) some frequently asked questions for which are proposed addressing modes. The paper aims at contributing to explore how ARB&ARGs behave in UWTPs having in mind that each plant is a unique system that will probably need a specific procedure to maximize ARB&ARGs removal.201829626693
645110.9941Antibiotic-Resistant Genes and Bacteria as Evolving Contaminants of Emerging Concerns (e-CEC): Is It Time to Include Evolution in Risk Assessment? The pressing issue of the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and resistant bacteria in the environment (ARGs and ARB, respectively) requires procedures for assessing the risk to health. The chemo-centric environmental risk assessment models identify hazard(s) in a dose-response manner, obtaining exposure, toxicity, risk, impact and policy. However, this risk assessment approach based on ARGs/ARB evaluation from a quantitative viewpoint shows high unpredictability because ARGs/ARB cannot be considered as standard hazardous molecules: ARB duplicate and ARGs evolve within a biological host. ARGs/ARB are currently listed as Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC). In light of such characteristics, we propose to define ARGs/ARB within a new category of evolving CEC (or e-CEC). ARGs/ARB, like any other evolving determinants (e.g., viruses, bacteria, genes), escape environmental controls. When they do so, just one molecule left remaining at a control point can form the origin of a new dangerous and selection-responsive population. As a consequence, perhaps it is time to acknowledge this trait and to include evolutionary concepts within modern risk assessment of e-CEC. In this perspective we analyze the evolutionary responses most likely to influence risk assessment, and we speculate on the means by which current methods could measure evolution. Further work is required to implement and exploit such experimental procedures in future risk assessment protocols.202134572648
667120.9941Antibiotic Resistance: Moving From Individual Health Norms to Social Norms in One Health and Global Health. Antibiotic resistance is a problem for human health, and consequently, its study had been traditionally focused toward its impact for the success of treating human infections in individual patients (individual health). Nevertheless, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes are not confined only to the infected patients. It is now generally accepted that the problem goes beyond humans, hospitals, or long-term facility settings and that it should be considered simultaneously in human-connected animals, farms, food, water, and natural ecosystems. In this regard, the health of humans, animals, and local antibiotic-resistance-polluted environments should influence the health of the whole interconnected local ecosystem (One Health). In addition, antibiotic resistance is also a global problem; any resistant microorganism (and its antibiotic resistance genes) could be distributed worldwide. Consequently, antibiotic resistance is a pandemic that requires Global Health solutions. Social norms, imposing individual and group behavior that favor global human health and in accordance with the increasingly collective awareness of the lack of human alienation from nature, will positively influence these solutions. In this regard, the problem of antibiotic resistance should be understood within the framework of socioeconomic and ecological efforts to ensure the sustainability of human development and the associated human-natural ecosystem interactions.202032983000
769530.9940Use of proximity ligation shotgun metagenomics to investigate the dynamics of plasmids and bacteriophages in the gut microbiome following fecal microbiota transplantation. Proximity ligation shotgun metagenomics facilitate the analysis of the relationships between mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids and bacteriophages, and their specific bacterial hosts. We applied this technique to investigate the changes in the fecal microbiome of patients receiving fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections (rCDI). FMT was associated with successful engraftment of donor bacteria along with their associated bacteriophages. While fecal microbial diversity increased in all patients, the extent of specific bacterial taxa engraftment varied among individual patients. Interestingly, some donor bacteriophages remained closely linked to their original bacterial hosts, while others expanded their associations across different bacterial taxa. Notably, FMT partially reduced the content of vancomycin resistance and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase genes in the fecal microbiome of rCDI patients.202540948444
647240.9940Balancing water sustainability and public health goals in the face of growing concerns about antibiotic resistance. Global initiatives are underway to advance the sustainability of urban water infrastructure through measures such as water reuse. However, there are growing concerns that wastewater effluents are enriched in antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes, and thus could serve as a contributing factor to growing rates of antibiotic resistance in human infections. Evidence for the role of the water environment as a source and pathway for the spread of antimicrobial resistance is examined and key knowledge gaps are identified with respect to implications for sustainable water systems. Efforts on the part of engineers along with investment in research in epidemiology, risk assessment, water treatment and water delivery could advance current and future sustainable water strategies and help avoid unintended consequences.201424279909
640350.9940Fate and transport modelling for evaluating antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments: Current knowledge and research priorities. Antibiotics have revolutionised medicine in the last century and enabled the prevention of bacterial infections that were previously deemed untreatable. However, in parallel, bacteria have increasingly developed resistance to antibiotics through various mechanisms. When resistant bacteria find their way into terrestrial and aquatic environments, animal and human exposures increase, e.g., via polluted soil, food, and water, and health risks multiply. Understanding the fate and transport of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and the transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic environments is critical for evaluating and mitigating the risks of resistant-induced infections. The conceptual understanding of sources and pathways of antibiotics, ARB, and ARGs from society to the water environments is essential for setting the scene and developing an appropriate framework for modelling. Various factors and processes associated with hydrology, ecology, and climate change can significantly affect the fate and transport of ARB and ARGs in natural environments. This article reviews current knowledge, research gaps, and priorities for developing water quality models to assess the fate and transport of ARB and ARGs. The paper also provides inputs on future research needs, especially the need for new predictive models to guide risk assessment on AR transmission and spread in aquatic environments.202437788551
648460.9940Microbial assisted phytodepuration for water reclamation: Environmental benefits and threats. Climate changes push for water reuse as a priority to counteract water scarcity and minimize water footprint especially in agriculture, one of the highest water consuming human activities. Phytodepuration is indicated as a promising technology for water reclamation, also in the light of its economic and ecological sustainability, and the use of specific bacterial inocula for microbial assisted phytodepuration has been proposed as a further advance for its implementation. Here we provided an overview on the selection and use of plant growth promoting bacteria in Constructed Wetland (CW) systems, showing their advantages in terms of plant growth support and pollutant degradation abilities. Moreover, CWs are also proposed for the removal of emerging organic pollutants like antibiotics from urban wastewaters. We focused on this issue, still debated in the literature, revealing the necessity to deepen the knowledge on the antibiotic resistance spread into the environment in relation to treated wastewater release and reuse. In addition, given the presence in the plant system of microhabitats (e.g. rhizosphere) that are hot spot for Horizontal Gene Transfer, we highlighted the importance of gene exchange to understand if these events can promote the diffusion of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic resistant bacteria, possibly entering in the food production chain when treated wastewater is used for irrigation. Ideally, this new knowledge will lead to improve the design of phytodepuration systems to maximize the quality and safety of the treated effluents in compliance with the 'One Health' concept.202031605997
938570.9940A generalised model for generalised transduction: the importance of co-evolution and stochasticity in phage mediated antimicrobial resistance transfer. Antimicrobial resistance is a major global challenge. Of particular concern are mobilizable elements that can transfer resistance genes between bacteria, leading to pathogens with new combinations of resistance. To date, mathematical models have largely focussed on transfer of resistance by plasmids, with fewer studies on transfer by bacteriophages. We aim to understand how best to model transfer of resistance by transduction by lytic phages. We show that models of lytic bacteriophage infection with empirically derived realistic phage parameters lead to low numbers of bacteria, which, in low population or localised environments, lead to extinction of bacteria and phage. Models that include antagonistic co-evolution of phage and bacteria produce more realistic results. Furthermore, because of these low numbers, stochastic dynamics are shown to be important, especially to spread of resistance. When resistance is introduced, resistance can sometimes be fixed, and at other times die out, with the probability of each outcome sensitive to bacterial and phage parameters. Specifically, that outcome most strongly depends on the baseline death rate of bacteria, with phage-mediated spread favoured in benign environments with low mortality over more hostile environments. We conclude that larger-scale models should consider spatial compartmentalisation and heterogeneous microenviroments, while encompassing stochasticity and co-evolution.202032490523
735680.9940Tossed 'good luck' coins as vectors for anthropogenic pollution into aquatic environment. Superstition has it that tossing coins into wells or fountains brings good luck, thereby causing a potential accumulation of microbially contaminated metal particles in the water. Here, we characterized the microbiota and the resistance profile in biofilm on such coins and their surrounding sediments. The study site was a tidal marine lake within a touristic center located in a natural reserve area. Notwithstanding the fact that coin-related biofilms were dominated by typical marine taxa, coin biofilms had specific microbial communities that were different from the communities of the surrounding sediment. Moreover, the communities were different depending on whether the coin were made mainly of steel or of copper. Sequences affiliated with putative pathogens were found on every third coin but were not found in the surrounding sediment. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were detected on most of the coins, and interestingly, sediments close to the area where coins accumulate had a higher frequency of ARGs. We suggest that the surface of the coins might offer a niche for ARGs and faecal bacteria to survive, and, thus, tossed coins are a potential source and vector for ARGs into the surrounding environment.202031887589
644390.9940Understanding bacterial ecology to combat antibiotic resistance dissemination. The dissemination of antibiotic resistance from environmental sources is a growing concern. Despite the widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance transmission events, there are actually multiple obstacles in the ecosystem that restrict the flow of bacteria and genes, in particular nonnegligible biological barriers. How these ecological factors help combat the dissemination of antibiotic resistance and relevant antibiotic resistance-diminishing organisms (ARDOs) deserves further exploration. This review summarizes the factors that influence the growth, metabolism, and environmental adaptation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and restrict the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Additionally, this review discusses the achievements in the application of ARDOs to improve biotechnology for wastewater and solid waste remediation while highlighting current challenges limiting their broader implementation.202539855970
6457100.9940Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance in Agroecosystems: State of the Science. We propose a simple causal model depicting relationships involved in dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems and potential effects on human health, functioning of natural ecosystems, and agricultural productivity. Available evidence for each causal link is briefly summarized, and key knowledge gaps are highlighted. A lack of quantitative estimates of human exposure to environmental bacteria, in general, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, specifically, is a significant data gap hindering the assessment of effects on human health. The contribution of horizontal gene transfer to resistance in the environment and conditions that might foster the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes into human pathogens also need further research. Existing research has focused heavily on human health effects, with relatively little known about the effects of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance on natural and agricultural ecosystems. The proposed causal model is used to elucidate gaps in knowledge that must be addressed by the research community and may provide a useful starting point for the design and analysis of future research efforts.201627065386
6455110.9940Bacteriophages: Underestimated vehicles of antibiotic resistance genes in the soil. Bacteriophages (phages), the most abundant biological entities on Earth, have a significant effect on the composition and dynamics of microbial communities, biogeochemical cycles of global ecosystems, and bacterial evolution. A variety of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been identified in phage genomes in different soil samples. Phages can mediate the transfer of ARGs between bacteria via transduction. Recent studies have suggested that anthropogenic activities promote phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer events. Therefore, the role of phages in the dissemination of ARGs, which are a potential threat to human health, may be underestimated. However, the contribution of phages to the transfer of ARGs is still poorly understood. Considering the growing and wide concerns of antibiotic resistance, phages should be considered a research focus in the mobile resistome. This review aimed to provide an overview of phages as vehicles of ARGs in soil. Here, we summarized the current knowledge on the diversity and abundance of ARGs in soilborne phages and analyzed the contribution of phages to the horizontal transfer of ARGs. Finally, research deficiencies and future perspectives were discussed. This study provides a reference for preventing and controlling ARG pollution in agricultural systems.202235992716
6646120.9940Food animals and antimicrobials: impacts on human health. Antimicrobials are valuable therapeutics whose efficacy is seriously compromised by the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The provision of antibiotics to food animals encompasses a wide variety of nontherapeutic purposes that include growth promotion. The concern over resistance emergence and spread to people by nontherapeutic use of antimicrobials has led to conflicted practices and opinions. Considerable evidence supported the removal of nontherapeutic antimicrobials (NTAs) in Europe, based on the "precautionary principle." Still, concrete scientific evidence of the favorable versus unfavorable consequences of NTAs is not clear to all stakeholders. Substantial data show elevated antibiotic resistance in bacteria associated with animals fed NTAs and their food products. This resistance spreads to other animals and humans-directly by contact and indirectly via the food chain, water, air, and manured and sludge-fertilized soils. Modern genetic techniques are making advances in deciphering the ecological impact of NTAs, but modeling efforts are thwarted by deficits in key knowledge of microbial and antibiotic loads at each stage of the transmission chain. Still, the substantial and expanding volume of evidence reporting animal-to-human spread of resistant bacteria, including that arising from use of NTAs, supports eliminating NTA use in order to reduce the growing environmental load of resistance genes.201121976606
6488130.9940Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes in wastewater streams: Current challenges and future perspectives. The discovery of antibiotics, which was once regarded as a timely medical intervention now leaves a bitter aftertaste: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the unregulated use of these compounds and the poor management receiving wastewaters before discharge into pristine environments or the recycling of such treated waters. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been regarded a central sink for the mostly unmetabolized or partially metabolised antibiotics and is also pivotal to the incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARBs) and their resistance genes (ARGs), which consistently contribute to the global disease burden and deteriorating prophylaxis. In this regard, we highlighted WWTP-antibiotics consumption-ARBs-ARGs nexus, which might be critical to understanding the epidemiology of AMR and also guide the precise prevention and remediation of such occurrences. We also discovered the unsophistication of conventional WWTPs and treatment techniques for adequate treatment of antibiotics, ARBs and ARGs, due to their lack of compliance with environmental sustainability, then ultimately assessed the prospects of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). Herein, we observed that CAP technologies not only has the capability to disinfect wastewater polluted with copious amounts of chemicals and biologicals, but also have a potential to augment bioelectricity generation, when integrated into bio electrochemical modules, which future WWTPs should be retrofitted to accommodate. Therefore, further research should be conducted to unveil more of the unknowns, which only a snippet has been highlighted in this study.202236733776
9701140.9939Environmental factors influencing the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance and its wider implications present us with a growing healthcare crisis. Recent research points to the environment as an important component for the transmission of resistant bacteria and in the emergence of resistant pathogens. However, a deeper understanding of the evolutionary and ecological processes that lead to clinical appearance of resistance genes is still lacking, as is knowledge of environmental dispersal barriers. This calls for better models of how resistance genes evolve, are mobilized, transferred and disseminated in the environment. Here, we attempt to define the ecological and evolutionary environmental factors that contribute to resistance development and transmission. Although mobilization of resistance genes likely occurs continuously, the great majority of such genetic events do not lead to the establishment of novel resistance factors in bacterial populations, unless there is a selection pressure for maintaining them or their fitness costs are negligible. To enable preventative measures it is therefore critical to investigate under what conditions and to what extent environmental selection for resistance takes place. In addition, understanding dispersal barriers is not only key to evaluate risks, but also to prevent resistant pathogens, as well as novel resistance genes, from reaching humans.201829069382
6436150.9939Protist predation selects for the soil resistome. A key aspect of "One Health" is to comprehend how antibiotic resistomes evolve naturally. In this issue, Nguyen and colleagues pioneered an in situ investigation on the impact of protist predations on the soil microbial community and its antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). They found that bacterivorous protists consistently increased the abundance of ARGs, such as tetracycline resistant genes. Indeed, antibiotic production is a common strategy for bacteria to evade protist predation. The rise of ARGs can be explained by the balance between antibiotic producers and resisters shaped by predatory selection. This work suggests that ARG enrichment due to biotic interactions may be less worrisome than previously thought. Unless, these ARGs are carried by or disseminated among pathogens. Therefore, it is essential to monitor the occurrence, dissemination and pathogenic hosts of ARGs, enhancing our capacity to combat antibiotic resistance.202438365252
3975160.9939The equine hindgut as a reservoir of mobile genetic elements and antimicrobial resistance genes. Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a growing problem for both human and veterinary medicine. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids, transposons, and integrons enable the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among bacteria, and the overuse of antibiotics drives this process by providing the selection pressure for resistance genes to establish and persist in bacterial populations. Because bacteria, MGEs, and resistance genes can readily spread between different ecological compartments (e.g. soil, plants, animals, humans, wastewater), a "One Health" approach is needed to combat this problem. The equine hindgut is an understudied but potentially significant reservoir of ARGs and MGEs, since horses have close contact with humans, their manure is used in agriculture, they have a dense microbiome of both bacteria and fungi, and many antimicrobials used for equine treatment are also used in human medicine. Here, we collate information to date about resistance genes, plasmids, and class 1 integrons from equine-derived bacteria, we discuss why the equine hindgut deserves increased attention as a potential reservoir of ARGs, and we suggest ways to minimize the selection for ARGs in horses, in order to prevent their spread to the wider community.202133899656
9625170.9939Water chlorination increases the relative abundance of an antibiotic resistance marker in developing sourdough starters. Multiple factors explain the proper development of sourdough starters. Although the role of raw ingredients and geography, among other things, have been widely studied recently, the possible effect of air quality and water chlorination on the overall bacterial communities associated with sourdough remains to be explored. Here, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we show that clean, filtered-air severely limited the presence of lactic acid bacteria in sourdough starters, suggesting that surrounding air is an important source of microorganisms necessary for the development of sourdough starters. We also show that water chlorination at levels commonly found in drinking water systems has a limited impact on the overall bacterial communities developing in sourdough starters. However, using targeted sequencing, which offers a higher resolution, we found that the abundance of integron 1, a genetic mechanism responsible for the horizontal exchange of antibiotic-resistance genes in spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, increased significantly with the level of water chlorination. Although our results suggest that water chlorination might not impact sourdough starters at a deep phylogenetic level, they indicate that it can favor the spread of genetic elements associated with spoilage bacteria. IMPORTANCE: Proper development of sourdough starters is critical for making tasty and healthy bread. Although many factors contributing to sourdough development have been studied, the effect of water chlorination on the bacterial communities in sourdough has been largely ignored. Researchers used sequencing techniques to investigate this effect and found that water chlorination at levels commonly found in drinking water systems has a limited impact on the overall bacterial communities developing in sourdough starters. However, they discovered that water chlorination could increase the abundance of integron 1, a genetic mechanism responsible for the horizontal exchange of antibiotic resistance genes in spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. This suggests that water chlorination could favor the growth of key spoilage bacteria and compromise the quality and safety of the bread. These findings emphasize the importance of considering water quality when developing sourdough starters for the best possible bread.202439283274
7373180.9939Distributional Pattern of Bacteria, Protists, and Diatoms in Ocean according to Water Depth in the Northern South China Sea. Ocean microbiomes provide insightful details about the condition of water and the global impact of marine ecosystems. A fine-scale analysis of ocean microbes may shed light on the dynamics and function of the ocean microbiome community. In this study, we evaluated the changes in the community and function of marine bacteria, protists, and diatoms corresponding to different ocean depths using next-generation sequencing methods. We found that diatoms displayed a potential water-depth pattern in species richness (alpha diversity) and community composition (beta diversity). However, for bacteria and protists, there was no significant relationship between water depth and species richness. This may be related to the biological characteristics of diatoms. The photosynthesis of diatoms and their distribution may be associated with the fluctuating light regime in the underwater climate. Moreover, salinity displayed negative effects on the abundance of some diatom and bacterial groups, which indicates that salinity may be one of the factors restricting ocean microorganism diversity. In addition, compared to the global ocean microbiome composition, function, and antibiotic resistance genes, a water depth pattern due to the fine-scale region was not observed in this study. IMPORTANCE Fine-scale analysis of ocean microbes provides insights into the dynamics and functions of the ocean microbiome community. Here, using amplicon and metagenome sequencing methods, we found that diatoms in the northern South China Sea displayed a potential water-depth pattern in species richness and community composition, which may be related to their biological characteristics. The potential effects of the differences in geographic sites mainly occurred in the diatom and bacterial communities. Moreover, given the correlation between the environmental factors and relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the study of ocean ARG distribution patterns should integrate the potential effects of environmental factors.202236222702
3989190.9939Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Aquaculture and Climate Change: A Challenge for Health in the Mediterranean Area. Aquaculture is the productive activity that will play a crucial role in the challenges of the millennium, such as the need for proteins that support humans and the respect for the environment. Aquaculture is an important economic activity in the Mediterranean basin. A great impact is presented, however, by aquaculture practices as they involve the use of antibiotics for treatment and prophylaxis. As a consequence of the use of antibiotics in aquaculture, antibiotic resistance is induced in the surrounding bacteria in the column water, sediment, and fish-associated bacterial strains. Through horizontal gene transfer, bacteria can diffuse antibiotic-resistance genes and mobile resistance genes further spreading genetic determinants. Once triggered, antibiotic resistance easily spreads among aquatic microbial communities and, from there, can reach human pathogenic bacteria, making vain the use of antibiotics for human health. Climate change claims a significant role in this context, as rising temperatures can affect cell physiology in bacteria in the same way as antibiotics, causing antibiotic resistance to begin with. The Mediterranean Sea represents a 'hot spot' in terms of climate change and aspects of antibiotic resistance in aquaculture in this area can be significantly amplified, thus increasing threats to human health. Practices must be adopted to counteract negative impacts on human health, with a reduction in the use of antibiotics as a pivotal point. In the meantime, it is necessary to act against climate change by reducing anthropogenic impacts, for example by reducing CO(2) emissions into the atmosphere. The One Health type approach, which involves the intervention of different skills, such as veterinary, ecology, and medicine in compliance with the principles of sustainability, is necessary and strongly recommended to face these important challenges for human and animal health, and for environmental safety in the Mediterranean area.202134073520