Fecal pollution can explain antibiotic resistance gene abundances in anthropogenically impacted environments

Discharge of treated sewage leads to release of antibiotic resistant bacteria, resistance genes and antibiotic residues to the environment. However, it is unclear whether increased abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in sewage and sewage-impacted environments is due to on-site selection pressure by residual antibiotics, or is simply a result of fecal contamination with resistant bacteria. Here we analyze relative resistance gene abundance and accompanying extent of fecal pollution in publicly available metagenomic data, using crAssphage sequences as a marker of human fecal contamination (crAssphage is a bacteriophage that is exceptionally abundant in, and specific to, human feces). We find that the…

• SF
  Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas

  Awards: 942-2015-750, 942-2015, 2015-750
• GU
  Göteborgs Universitet
• CF
  Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research, University of Gothenburg