Journal of Environmental Biology

Occurrence and variations of five classes of antibiotic

resistance genes  along the Jiulong River in southeast China

 

Shuting Zhang¹, Lu Lv¹, Yongli Zhang², Huining Zhang¹, Xin Yu¹ and Shenghua Zhang¹*

¹Institute of Urban Environment, China Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China

²Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Zhoushan, 316021, China

*Corresponding Author email : shzhang@iue.ac.cn

 

 

 

 

Publication Data

Paper received:

15 June 2012

 

Revised received:

12 August 2012

 

Accepted:

03 September 2012

 

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging microbial hazards threatening human health. Many factors, including urban and agricultural activities and water environment changes, can significantly impact the variations of ARGs. An investigation on the occurrence and variations of ARGs in the Jiulong River was done in this study. The water samples were collected from 16 sites ranging from the upper branch to the river mouth of the Jiulong River, in both low- and high-flow periods. Eleven ARG families were tested and quantified by real-time PCR (SYBR Green) methods, and detection assays were conducted for tetA, tetG, aacC1, strA, ermB, cmlA5, vanA, dfrA1, sulII, blaTEM-1 and blaoxa-1 genes. Results showed that nine ARG families were found, then the swine industry and urban activities, including sewage discharge, might be responsible for the high levels of concentrations and relative abundances of ARGs, and the increase of salinity might decrease the relative abundances of ARGs. In addition, some ARG abundances were significantly correlated to the concentrations of NH₄⁺ and PO₄^-3, particularly in the high-flow period. The human activities were important sources for ARGs in the Jiulong River, which have already become a threat to the safety of drinking water for the nearby cities.  

 

Key words

Antibiotic resistance genes, Jiulong River, Human activities, Real-time PCR, Source water

 

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