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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Four indicator genes were monitored by quantitative PCR in hospital effluent (HE) and in the raw and
treated wastewater of the municipal wastewater treatment plant receiving the hospital discharge. The
indicator genes were the class 1 integrase gene intI1, to assess the capacity of bacteria to be involved in
horizontal gene transfer processes; blaTEM, one of the most widespread antibiotic resistance genes in the
environment, associated with Enterobacteriaceae; vanA, an antibiotic resistance gene uncommon in the
environment and frequent in clinical isolates; and marA, part of a locus related to the stress response in
Enterobacteriaceae. Variation in the abundance of these genes was analysed as a function of the type of
water, and possible correlations with cultivable bacteria, antimicrobial residue concentrations, and
bacterial community composition and structure were analysed. HE was confirmed as an important
source of blaTEM and vanA genes, and wastewater treatment showed a limited capacity to remove these
resistance genes. The genes blaTEM and vanA presented the strongest correlations with culturable
bacteria, antimicrobial residues and some bacterial populations, representing interesting candidates as
indicator genes to monitor resistance in environmental samples. The intI1 gene was the most abundant
in all samples, demonstrating that wastewater bacterial populations hold a high potential for gene
acquisition
Description
Keywords
BlaTEM VanA Hospital effluent Wastewater treatment plant Indicator genes
Citation
NARCISO-DA-ROCHA, Carlos [et al.] - blaTEM and vanA as indicator genes of antibiotic resistance contamination in a hospital–urban wastewater treatment plant system. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance. ISSN 2213-7165. Vol. 2 (2014), p. 309–315
Publisher
Elsevier