Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum

Read, Daniel S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8546-5154; Gweon, H. Soon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6218-6301; Bowes, Michael J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0673-1934; Anjum, Muna F.; Crook, Derrick W.; Chau, Kevin K.; Shaw, Liam P.; Hubbard, Alasdair; AbuOun, Manal; Tipper, Holly J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1857-9204; Hoosdally, Sarah J.; Bailey, Mark J.; Walker, A. Sarah; Stoesser, Nicole. 2024 Dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) along the wastewater-river continuum. Water Research, 264, 122204. 12, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122204

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122204

Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122204
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-) Water Resources (Science Area 2017-) UKCEH Fellows
ISSN:	0043-1354
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	antimicrobial resistance, resistome, wastewater, river, sediment
NORA Subject Terms:	Health Hydrology Data and Information
Related URLs:	Dataset
Date made live:	07 Aug 2024 09:46 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537813

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122204

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
Water Resources (Science Area 2017-)
UKCEH Fellows

ISSN:

0043-1354

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

antimicrobial resistance, resistome, wastewater, river, sediment