Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health hazard. Although clinical and agricultural environments are well-established contributors to the evolution and dissemination of AMR, research on wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) has highlighted their potential role as disseminators of AMR in freshw...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024
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| _version_ | 1826314361276203008 |
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| author | Read, DS Gweon, HS Bowes, MJ Anjum, MF Crook, DW Chau, KK Shaw, LP Hubbard, A AbuOun, M Tipper, HJ Hoosdally, SJ Bailey, MJ Walker, AS Stoesser, N |
| author2 | REHAB consortium |
| author_facet | REHAB consortium Read, DS Gweon, HS Bowes, MJ Anjum, MF Crook, DW Chau, KK Shaw, LP Hubbard, A AbuOun, M Tipper, HJ Hoosdally, SJ Bailey, MJ Walker, AS Stoesser, N |
| author_sort | Read, DS |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health hazard. Although clinical and agricultural environments are well-established contributors to the evolution and dissemination of AMR, research on wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) has highlighted their potential role as disseminators of AMR in freshwater environments. Using metagenomic sequencing and analysis, we investigated the changes in resistomes and associated mobile genetic elements within untreated wastewater influents and treated effluents of five WwTWs, and sediments collected from corresponding river environments in Oxfordshire, UK, across three seasonal periods within a year. Our analysis demonstrated a high diversity and abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in untreated wastewater influents, reflecting the varied anthropogenic and environmental origins of wastewater. WwTWs effectively reduced AMR in the final effluent, with an average 87 % reduction in normalised ARG abundance and an average 63 % reduction in richness. However, wastewater effluents significantly impacted the antimicrobial resistome of the receiving rivers, with an average 543 % increase in ARG abundance and a 164 % increase in richness from upstream sediments to downstream sediments. The normalised abundance of the human gut-associated bacteriophage crAssphage was highly associated with both ARG abundance and richness. We observed seasonal variation in the resistome of raw influent which was not found in the effluent-receiving sediments. We illustrate the potential of WwTWs as focal points for disseminating ARGs and resistance-selecting chemicals, contributing to the elevation of environmental AMR. Our study emphasises the need for a comprehensive understanding of the anthropogenic impacts on AMR evolution and dissemination in wastewater and river environments, informing efforts to mitigate this growing public health crisis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:31:22Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:13649199-193b-4984-b65a-940725ee5f12 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:31:22Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:13649199-193b-4984-b65a-940725ee5f122024-09-04T09:45:47ZDissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuumJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:13649199-193b-4984-b65a-940725ee5f12EnglishSymplectic ElementsElsevier2024Read, DSGweon, HSBowes, MJAnjum, MFCrook, DWChau, KKShaw, LPHubbard, AAbuOun, MTipper, HJHoosdally, SJBailey, MJWalker, ASStoesser, NREHAB consortiumAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health hazard. Although clinical and agricultural environments are well-established contributors to the evolution and dissemination of AMR, research on wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) has highlighted their potential role as disseminators of AMR in freshwater environments. Using metagenomic sequencing and analysis, we investigated the changes in resistomes and associated mobile genetic elements within untreated wastewater influents and treated effluents of five WwTWs, and sediments collected from corresponding river environments in Oxfordshire, UK, across three seasonal periods within a year. Our analysis demonstrated a high diversity and abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in untreated wastewater influents, reflecting the varied anthropogenic and environmental origins of wastewater. WwTWs effectively reduced AMR in the final effluent, with an average 87 % reduction in normalised ARG abundance and an average 63 % reduction in richness. However, wastewater effluents significantly impacted the antimicrobial resistome of the receiving rivers, with an average 543 % increase in ARG abundance and a 164 % increase in richness from upstream sediments to downstream sediments. The normalised abundance of the human gut-associated bacteriophage crAssphage was highly associated with both ARG abundance and richness. We observed seasonal variation in the resistome of raw influent which was not found in the effluent-receiving sediments. We illustrate the potential of WwTWs as focal points for disseminating ARGs and resistance-selecting chemicals, contributing to the elevation of environmental AMR. Our study emphasises the need for a comprehensive understanding of the anthropogenic impacts on AMR evolution and dissemination in wastewater and river environments, informing efforts to mitigate this growing public health crisis. |
| spellingShingle | Read, DS Gweon, HS Bowes, MJ Anjum, MF Crook, DW Chau, KK Shaw, LP Hubbard, A AbuOun, M Tipper, HJ Hoosdally, SJ Bailey, MJ Walker, AS Stoesser, N Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title | Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title_full | Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title_fullStr | Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title_short | Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum |
| title_sort | dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance amr along the wastewater river continuum |
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