Antibiotic resistance genes
Groundwater and surface water are reservoirs for antibiotic resistant bacteria that originate in human wastewater and livestock manure.
The Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment (LIDE) analyzes antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in groundwater and surface water, which are potential points of human and livestock exposure to these contaminants. The LIDE can help guide selection of the ARG tests relevant to your project goals, and they offer support for study design, sample collection, data analysis, and interpretation of ARG results.
- Analyses support investigations of the movement and persistence of ARGs in groundwater and surface water.
- Microbial source tracking can be combined with ARG analyses to identify potential sources of the ARGs, like wastewater and livestock manure. For example, we related human and livestock contamination of private wells to ARG occurrence in a rural, agricultural region.
- Land use, rainfall, geology, and other factors related to ARG contamination can be investigated to further understand environmental pathways. For example, we identified factors related to ARG contamination of private wells.
Antibiotic resistance genes available for analysis by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) at LIDE (additional qPCR assays are evaluated and optimized as needed):
Antibiotic resistance genes |
|
van(A) |
|
blaCTX-M |
|
erm(B) |
|
mcr1 |
|
mec(A) |
|
qnrS |
|
sul1 |
|
tet(A) |
|
tet(M) |
|
tet(W) |
|
tet(X) |
|
Tn916-Tn1545 |
| intI1 |