Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems
Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and est...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ebfd7cb804a84f4fb581a5c892386b8c 2023-05-15T14:41:24+02:00 Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems Clare M. McCann Beate Christgen Jennifer A. Roberts Jian-Qiang Su Kathryn E. Arnold Neil D. Gray Yong-Guan Zhu David W. Graham 2019-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 https://doaj.org/article/ebfd7cb804a84f4fb581a5c892386b8c EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041201832587X https://doaj.org/toc/0160-4120 0160-4120 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 https://doaj.org/article/ebfd7cb804a84f4fb581a5c892386b8c Environment International, Vol 125, Iss , Pp 497-504 (2019) Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 2022-12-31T12:18:45Z Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and establishing a benchmark for assessing AR spread. Here, high-throughput qPCR and geochemistry were used to quantify the abundance and diversity of both antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selected mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across eight soil clusters in the Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard in the High Arctic. Relative ARG levels ranged by over two orders of magnitude (10−6 to 10−4 copies/16S rRNA gene copy), and showed a gradient of potential human and wildlife impacts across clusters as evidenced by altered geochemical conditions and increased “foreign” ARG abundances (i.e., allochthonous), including blaNDM-1. Impacted clusters exhibited 100× higher total ARGs and MGEs in tandem with elevated secondary nutrients, especially available P that is typically low and limiting in Arctic soils. In contrast, ARGs in less-impacted clusters correlated strongly to local soil lithology. The most plausible source of exogenous P and allochthonous ARGs in this region is bird and other wildlife guano, disseminated either by local human wastes or via direct carriage and deposition. Regardless of pathway, accumulation of apparent allochthonous ARGs and MGEs in High Arctic soils is concerning, highlighting the importance of characterizing Arctic sites now to establish benchmarks for tracking AR spread around the world. Keywords: High Arctic, Antibiotic resistance, International spread, Wildlife, Geochemistry, High throughput qPCR Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Guano ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) Environment International 125 497 504 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Clare M. McCann Beate Christgen Jennifer A. Roberts Jian-Qiang Su Kathryn E. Arnold Neil D. Gray Yong-Guan Zhu David W. Graham Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and establishing a benchmark for assessing AR spread. Here, high-throughput qPCR and geochemistry were used to quantify the abundance and diversity of both antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selected mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across eight soil clusters in the Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard in the High Arctic. Relative ARG levels ranged by over two orders of magnitude (10−6 to 10−4 copies/16S rRNA gene copy), and showed a gradient of potential human and wildlife impacts across clusters as evidenced by altered geochemical conditions and increased “foreign” ARG abundances (i.e., allochthonous), including blaNDM-1. Impacted clusters exhibited 100× higher total ARGs and MGEs in tandem with elevated secondary nutrients, especially available P that is typically low and limiting in Arctic soils. In contrast, ARGs in less-impacted clusters correlated strongly to local soil lithology. The most plausible source of exogenous P and allochthonous ARGs in this region is bird and other wildlife guano, disseminated either by local human wastes or via direct carriage and deposition. Regardless of pathway, accumulation of apparent allochthonous ARGs and MGEs in High Arctic soils is concerning, highlighting the importance of characterizing Arctic sites now to establish benchmarks for tracking AR spread around the world. Keywords: High Arctic, Antibiotic resistance, International spread, Wildlife, Geochemistry, High throughput qPCR |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Clare M. McCann Beate Christgen Jennifer A. Roberts Jian-Qiang Su Kathryn E. Arnold Neil D. Gray Yong-Guan Zhu David W. Graham |
author_facet |
Clare M. McCann Beate Christgen Jennifer A. Roberts Jian-Qiang Su Kathryn E. Arnold Neil D. Gray Yong-Guan Zhu David W. Graham |
author_sort |
Clare M. McCann |
title |
Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
title_short |
Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
title_full |
Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
title_fullStr |
Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
title_full_unstemmed |
Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems |
title_sort |
understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in high arctic soil ecosystems |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 https://doaj.org/article/ebfd7cb804a84f4fb581a5c892386b8c |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Guano |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Guano |
genre |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard |
op_source |
Environment International, Vol 125, Iss , Pp 497-504 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041201832587X https://doaj.org/toc/0160-4120 0160-4120 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 https://doaj.org/article/ebfd7cb804a84f4fb581a5c892386b8c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.034 |
container_title |
Environment International |
container_volume |
125 |
container_start_page |
497 |
op_container_end_page |
504 |
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1766313175786979328 |