Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms
Antimicrobial residues excreted in the environment following antimicrobial treatment enhance resistant microbial communities in the environment and have long-term effects on the selection and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRGs). In this study, we focused on understanding the impact...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/2/92 |
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| author | Courtney Higgins Noah D. Cohen Nathan Slovis Melissa Boersma Pankaj P. Gaonkar Daniel R. Golden Laura Huber |
| author_facet | Courtney Higgins Noah D. Cohen Nathan Slovis Melissa Boersma Pankaj P. Gaonkar Daniel R. Golden Laura Huber |
| author_sort | Courtney Higgins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Antimicrobial residues excreted in the environment following antimicrobial treatment enhance resistant microbial communities in the environment and have long-term effects on the selection and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRGs). In this study, we focused on understanding the impact of antimicrobial use on antimicrobial residue pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment of horse-breeding farms. <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> is an ideal microbe to study these associations because it lives naturally in the soil, exchanges AMRGs with other bacteria in the environment, and can cause disease in animals and humans. The environment is the main source of <i>R. equi</i> infections in foals; therefore, higher levels of multidrug-resistant (MDR) <i>R. equi</i> in the environment contribute to clinical infections with MDR <i>R. equi</i>. We found that macrolide residues in the environment of horse-breeding farms and the use of thoracic ultrasonographic screening (TUS) for early detection of subclinically affected foals with <i>R. equi</i> infections were strongly associated with the presence of <i>R. equi</i> carrying AMRGs in the soil. Our findings indicate that the use of TUS contributed to historically higher antimicrobial use in foals, leading to the accumulation of antimicrobial residues in the environment and enhancing MDR <i>R. equi</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:10:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09d70911d3954a9d8b42ceff4c3d27d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:10:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-09d70911d3954a9d8b42ceff4c3d27d22024-02-23T15:37:21ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812024-02-011129210.3390/vetsci11020092Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding FarmsCourtney Higgins0Noah D. Cohen1Nathan Slovis2Melissa Boersma3Pankaj P. Gaonkar4Daniel R. Golden5Laura Huber6Pathobiology Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USALarge Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M, College Station, TX 77843, USAHagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, KY 40511, USACollege of Sciences and Mathematics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USAPathobiology Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USAPathobiology Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USAPathobiology Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USAAntimicrobial residues excreted in the environment following antimicrobial treatment enhance resistant microbial communities in the environment and have long-term effects on the selection and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRGs). In this study, we focused on understanding the impact of antimicrobial use on antimicrobial residue pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment of horse-breeding farms. <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> is an ideal microbe to study these associations because it lives naturally in the soil, exchanges AMRGs with other bacteria in the environment, and can cause disease in animals and humans. The environment is the main source of <i>R. equi</i> infections in foals; therefore, higher levels of multidrug-resistant (MDR) <i>R. equi</i> in the environment contribute to clinical infections with MDR <i>R. equi</i>. We found that macrolide residues in the environment of horse-breeding farms and the use of thoracic ultrasonographic screening (TUS) for early detection of subclinically affected foals with <i>R. equi</i> infections were strongly associated with the presence of <i>R. equi</i> carrying AMRGs in the soil. Our findings indicate that the use of TUS contributed to historically higher antimicrobial use in foals, leading to the accumulation of antimicrobial residues in the environment and enhancing MDR <i>R. equi</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/2/92<i>Rhodococcus equi</i>antimicrobial pollutionantimicrobial-resistant bacterial population dynamicsantimicrobial resistance selection and maintenance |
| spellingShingle | Courtney Higgins Noah D. Cohen Nathan Slovis Melissa Boersma Pankaj P. Gaonkar Daniel R. Golden Laura Huber Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms Veterinary Sciences <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> antimicrobial pollution antimicrobial-resistant bacterial population dynamics antimicrobial resistance selection and maintenance |
| title | Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms |
| title_full | Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms |
| title_fullStr | Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms |
| title_short | Antimicrobial Residue Accumulation Contributes to Higher Levels of <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Carrying Resistance Genes in the Environment of Horse-Breeding Farms |
| title_sort | antimicrobial residue accumulation contributes to higher levels of i rhodococcus equi i carrying resistance genes in the environment of horse breeding farms |
| topic | <i>Rhodococcus equi</i> antimicrobial pollution antimicrobial-resistant bacterial population dynamics antimicrobial resistance selection and maintenance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/2/92 |
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