Antibiotics are being identified as environmental contaminants because of their extensive use in human medicine and agriculture, which has led to frequent detection of these compounds in the environment. The potential for antibiotics to select for resistant organisms can result in increased antibiotic resistance levels detected in the environment, potentially threatening human health due to decreases in their effectiveness in treating disease. The goal of this study is to identify and quantify significant sources of antibiotic resistance in portions of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in order to determine whether antibiotic resistance impacts our surface waters. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). For Phase I (examining the Minnesota River), four antibiotic classes (fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, macrolides, and sulfonamides) used in both human medicine and agriculture were targeted. To date, our results suggest that wastewater treatment plant effluents harbor the largest quantities of antibiotics and resistance genes making them an important path for antibiotic resistance to reach surface waters. To determine whether surface waters that can be a source for drinking water are impacted, Phase II of this study examines the levels of ARGs in samples obtained from a portion of the Mississippi River used as a drinking water source. Based on the results of Phase I, the Mississippi River portion of the study targets antibiotics used for human medicine. Results will be presented for the �-lactamase, dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, fluoroquinolone, sulfonamide, and macrolide classes of antibiotics.

Quantifying bacterial resistance to antibiotics in Minnesota surface waters

247th National Meeting (2014)

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