An Environmental Science and Engineering Framework for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

On June 20, 2017, members of the environmental engineering and science (EES) community convened at the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Biennial Conference for a workshop on antimicrobial resistance. With over 80 registered participants, discussion groups focused on the following topics: risk assessment, monitoring, wastewater treatment, agricultural systems, and synergies. In this study, we summarize the consensus among the workshop participants regarding the role of the EES community in understanding and mitigating the spread of antibiotic resistance via environmental pathways. Environmental scientists and engineers offer a unique and interdisciplinary perspective and expertise needed for engaging with other disciplines such as medicine, agriculture, and public health to effectively address important knowledge gaps with respect to the linkages between human activities, impacts to the environment, and human health risks. Recommendations that propose priorities for research within the EES community, as well as areas where interdisciplinary perspectives are needed, are highlighted. In particular, risk modeling and assessment, monitoring, and mass balance modeling can aid in the identification of “hot spots” for antibiotic resistance evolution and dissemination, and can help identify effective targets for mitigation. Such information will be essential for the development of an informed and effective policy aimed at preserving and protecting the efficacy of antibiotics for future generations

Tertiary-Treated Municipal Wastewater is a Significant Point Source of Antibiotic Resistance Genes Into Duluth-Superior Harbor

In this study, the impact of tertiary-treated municipal wastewater on the quantity of several antibiotic resistance determinants in Duluth-Superior Harbor was investigated by collecting surface water and sediment samples from 13 locations in Duluth-Superior Harbor, the St. Louis River, and Lake Superior. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to target three different genes encoding resistance to tetracycline (tet(A), tet(X), and tet(W)), the gene encoding the integrase of class 1 integrons (intI1), and total bacterial abundance (16S rRNA genes) as well as total and human fecal contamination levels (16S rRNA genes specific to the genus Bacteroides). The quantities of tet(A), tet(X), tet(W), intI1, total Bacteroides, and human-specific Bacteroides were typically 20-fold higher in the tertiary-treated wastewater than in nearby surface water samples. In contrast, the quantities of these genes in the St. Louis River and Lake Superior were typically below detection. Analysis of sequences of tet(W) gene fragments from four different samples collected throughout the study site supported the conclusion that tertiary-treated municipal wastewater is a point source of resistance genes into Duluth-Superior Harbor. This study demonstrates that the discharge of exceptionally treated municipal wastewater can have a statistically significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic resistance genes in otherwise pristine surface waters

Quail IV: Proceedings of the Fourth National Quail Symposium (May 6-9, 1997 : Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida)

Fourth Herbert L. Stoddard, Sr. Memorial Game Bird Lecturer: Dr. G. R. Potts, Leonard A. Brennan FOURTH STODDARD MEMORIAL GAME BIRD LECTURE Using the Scientific Method to Improve Game Bird Management and Research: Time, G. R. Potts QUAIL POPULATION RESPONSES TO HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND CHANGE Habitat Use by Breeding Northern Bobwhites in Managed Old-Field Habitats in Mississippi, Jimmy D. Taylor, II and Loren W. Burger, Jr. Habitat Management for Northern Bobwhites in Wisconsin: A Long-Term Assessment, LeRoy R. Petersen, Robert T. Dumke, and Barbara F. Duerksen Effects of Filter Strips on Habitat Use and Home Range of Northern Bobwhites on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, K. Marc Puckett, William E. Palmer, Peter T. Bromley, John R. Anderson, Jr., and Terry L. Sharpe Vegetation Response to Disking on a Longleaf Pine Site in Southeastern Louisiana, Michael W. Olinde Influence of Food Plots on Northern Bobwhite Movements, Habitat Use, and Home Range, L. Andrew Madison, Robert J. Robel, and David P. Jones The Status of Masked Bobwhite Recovery in the United States and Mexico, William P. Kuvlesky, Jr., Sally A. Gall, Steve J. Dobrott, Susan Tolley, Fred S. Guthery, Stephen A. DeStefano, Nina King, Kenneth R. Nolte, Nova J. Silvy, James C. Lewis, George Gee, Gustavo Camou Luders, and Ron Engel-Wilson Vegetation and Thermal Characteristics of Bobwhite Nocturnal Roost Sites in Native Warm-Season Grass (Abstract), Eliodora Chamberlain, Ronald D. Drobney, and Thomas V. Dailey Effects of Disking Versus Feed Patch Management on Northern Bobwhite Brood Habitat and Hunting Success, Leonard A. Brennan, Jeffrey M. Lee, Eric L. Staller, Shane D. Wellendorf, and R. Shane Fuller Bird Use of Bobwhite Brush Shelters on a Conservation Reserve Program Field, Louis A. Harveson, Nick I. Kassinis, and Fred S. Guthery Effects of Seasonal Fire Applications on Northern Bobwhite Brood Habitat and Hunting Success, Leonard A. Brennan, Jeffrey M. Lee, Eric L. Staller, Shane D. Wellendorf, and R. Shane Fuller Bobwhite Brood Ecology in Relation to Fallow Field Management Techniques and Prescribed Fire Regime (Abstract), A. Vincent Carver, Loren W. Burger, Jr., and Leonard A. Brennan Seed Availability Within Food Plots and Native Vegetation Areas on a Longleaf Pine Site in Southeastern Louisiana (Abstract), Michael W. Olinde Food Plot Use by Juvenile Northern Bobwhites in East Texas, D. Scott Parsons, R. Montague Whiting, Jr., Xiangwen Liu, and Donald R. Dietz Long-Term Trends of Northern Bobwhite Populations and Hunting Success on Private Shooting Plantations in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia, Leonard A. Brennan, Jeffrey M. Lee, and R. Shane Fuller ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF PREDATION AND HUNTING Theory of the Hunter-Covey Interface, Andrew A. Radomski and Fred S. Guthery Survival Rates of Northern Bobwhite Chicks in South-Central Iowa, Willie J. Suchy and Ronald J. Munkel Is Quail Hunting Self-Regulatory? Northern Bobwhite and Scaled Quail Abundance and Quail Hunting in Texas, Markus J. Peterson and Robert M. Perez Survival of Northern Bobwhites on Areas with and without Liberated Bobwhites, D. Clay Sisson, Dan W. Speake, and H. Lee Stribling Predators and Prickly Paradigms: Nesting Ecology of Bobwhites and Scaled Quail in West Texas (Abstract), Dale Rollins, Fidel Hernandez, Philip L. Carter, and Stacey A. Slater Depredation Patterns of Northern Bobwhite Nest Predators in Virginia, Michael L. Fies and K. Marc Puckett Seasonal Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Northern Bobwhites in Mississippi, Jimmy D. Taylor II, Loren W. Burger, Jr., Scott W. Manley, and Leonard A. Brennan Preliminary Findings on the Foraging Ecology of a Northern Bobwhite Predator in North Florida: The Cooper\u27s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) (Abstract), Brian A. Millsap, Timothy Breen, and Lora Silvmania Efficiency of Pointing Dogs in Locating Northern Bobwhite Coveys (Abstract), D. Clay Sisson, H. Lee Stribling, and Dan W. Speake Influence of Habitat Type and Prescribed Burning on Feral Swine Depredation of Artificial Quail Nests (Abstract), Douglas R. Tolleson, William E. Pinchak, Dale Rollins, and R. James Ansley GENETICS, SURVIVAL, REPRODUCTION, AND POPULATION RESTORATION Comparative Morphology and Phylogenetic Relatedness Among Bobwhites in the Southern U.S. and Mexico, Shirley L. White, Kenneth R. Nolte, William P. Kuvlesky, Jr., and Fred S. Guthery Restocking Northern Bobwhites in East Texas: A Genetic Assessment (Abstract), Michael A. Nedbal, Steven G. Evans, Rodney L. Honeycutt, R. Montague Whiting, Jr., and Donald R. Dietz Temperature and Humidity Relationships of Scaled Quail Nests in Southern New Mexico, Carol A. Evans and Sanford D. Schemnitz Survival and Causes of Mortality of Relocated and Resident Northern Bobwhites in East Texas, Xiangwen Liu, R. Montague Whiting, Jr., Brad S. Mueller, D. Scott Parsons, and Donald R. Dietz Reproductive Effort of Female Mountain Quail Induced by Dietary Xanthophyll (Abstract), David Delehanty The Effects of Endophyte-Infected KY 3 1 Tall Fescue Seed on Northern Bobwhite Reproduction (Abstract), Thomas G. Barnes, James S. Lane, Anthony Pescatore, and Austin Cantor Effects of Feed Restriction on Lipid Dynamics and Reproduction in Northern Bobwhites (Abstract), Thomas V. Dailey and Terrance R. Callahan Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Home Range Size and Survival of Northern Bobwhites in South Georgia, D. Clay Sisson, H. Lee Stribling, and Dan W. Speake Reproduction of Relocated and Resident Northern Bobwhites in East Texas, D. Scott Parsons, R. Montague Whiting, Jr., Xiangwen Liu, Brad S. Mueller, and Stanley L. Cook Habitat Use by Reintroduced Mountain Quail (Abstract), Michael Pope and John A. Crawford Brain Cholinesterase Depression and Mortality of Bobwhite Chicks Exposed to Granular Chlorpyrifos or Fonofos Applied to Peanut Vines (Abstract), William E. Palmer, John R. Anderson, Jr., and Peter T. Bromley Exposure of Captive Bobwhites to an At-Planting Application of Terbufos (Counter® 1 5G) to Corn (Abstract), William E. Palmer, John R. Anderson, Jr., and Peter T. Bromley Survival Rates for Northern Bobwhites on Two Areas with Different Levels of Harvest, Willie J. Suchy and Ronald J. Munkel Releasing Captive-Reared Masked Bobwhites for Population Recovery: A Review, Sally A. Gall, William P. Kuvlesky, Jr., and George Gee LANDSCAPE SCALE EFFECTS ON QUAIL POPULATIONS AND HABITAT Habitat and Weather Effects on Northern Bobwhite Brood Movements, J. Scott Taylor, Kevin E. Church, and Donald H. Rusch The Development of a Gamebird Research Strategy: Unraveling the Importance of Arthropod Populations, Nicolas W. Sotherton Status, Ecology and Management of Scaled Quail in West Texas, Dale Rollins Habitat Characteristics of Northern Bobwhite Quail-Hunting Party Encounters: A Landscape Perspective, William K. Michener, Jimmy B. Atkinson, Don G. Edwards, Jeffrey W. Hollister, Paula F. Houhoulis, Paula M. Johnson, and Robert N. Smith Montezuma Quail Management in Arizona, James R. Heffelfinger and Ronald J. Olding Quails in Mexico: Needs and Opportunities, John P. Carroll and Jack Clinton Eitniear Historic Distribution of Mountain Quail in the Pacific Northwest, John A. Crawford Potential Effects of Global Warming on Quail Populations, Fred S. Guthery, N. David Forrester, Kenneth R. Nolte, Will E. Cohen, and William P. Kuvlesky, Jr. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources South-Central Region Bobwhite Quail Rehabilitation Program (Abstract), P. Hunter and R. Ludolph How Ecological Disturbances May Influence Mountain Quail in the Pacific Northwest (Abstract), Michael D. Pope and Patricia E. Heekin RESEARCH METHODS Efficiency of Bait Trapping and Night Lighting for Capturing Northern Bobwhites in Missouri, Vicki L. Truitt and Thomas V. Dailey Effects of Radio-Transmitters on Body Condition, Harvest Rate, and Survival of Bobwhites (Abstract), Lori Corteville, Loren W. Burger, Jr., and Leonard A. Brennan Evaluation of Two Marking Methods for 1 -day-old Northern Bobwhite Chicks (Abstract), A. Vincent Carver, Loren W. Burger, Jr., and Leonard A. Brennan Comparison of Two Methods for Quantifying Northern Bobwhite Habitat Use, Scott W. Manley, Jeffrey M. Lee, R. Shane Fuller, John P. Carroll, and Leonard A. Brennan HUMAN DIMENSIONS Demographics of Quail Hunters in Oklahoma, Andrea K. Crews and Stephen J. DeMaso Missouri\u27s Quail Hunter Cooperator Survey (Abstract), Thomas V. Dailey The Bobwhite Brigade: An Innovative Approach to Wildlife Extension Education, Dale Rollins, Don W. Steinbach, and Cristy G. Brown The Future of Quail Hunting in the Southeastern United States (Abstract), Frank B. Barick Strategic Planning Update, Leonard A. Brennan and John P. Carroll SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOP SUMMARIES Workshop Summary, Developing Northern Bobwhite Management Plans: A Habitat-Based Framework, Brad S. Mueller Quail Modeling Workshop Summary, Fred S. Guthery Workshop Summary: Federal Farm Programs-What Can Be Done for Quail? Steve Capel Workshop Summary: Radio Telemetry Applications in Wildlife Research, Loren W. Burger, Jr., and Jimmy D. Taylor II CONFERENCE SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS Concluding Remarks: The Research Perspective, John L. Roseberry Concluding Remarks: The Manager\u27s Perspective, Hunter Dre

Excretion of Antibiotic Resistance Genes by Dairy Calves Fed Milk Replacers with Varying Doses of Antibiotics

Elevated levels of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil and water have been linked to livestock farms and in some cases feed antibiotics may select for antibiotic resistant gut microbiota. The purpose of this study was to examine the establishment of ARGs in the feces of calves receiving milk replacer containing no antibiotics versus subtherapeutic or therapeutic doses of tetracycline and neomycin. The effect of antibiotics on calf health was also of interest. Twenty-eight male and female dairy calves were assigned to one of the three antibiotic treatment groups at birth and fecal samples were collected at weeks 6, 7 (prior to weaning), and 12 (5 weeks after weaning). ARGs corresponding to the tetracycline (tetC, tetG, tetO, tetW, and tetX), macrolide (ermB, ermF), and sulfonamide (sul1, sul2) classes of antibiotics along with the class I integron gene, intI1, were monitored by quantitative polymerase chain reaction as potential indicators of direct selection, co-selection, or horizontal gene transfer of ARGs. Surprisingly, there was no significant effect of antibiotic treatment on the absolute abundance (gene copies per gram wet manure) of any of the ARGs except ermF, which was lower in the antibiotic-treated calf manure, presumably because a significant portion of host bacterial cells carrying ermF were not resistant to tetracycline or neomycin. However, relative abundance (gene copies normalized to 16S rRNA genes) of tetO was higher in calves fed the highest dose of antibiotic than in the other treatments. All genes, except tetC and intI1, were detectable in feces from 6 weeks onward, and tetW and tetG significantly increased (P < 0.10), even in control calves. Overall, the results provide new insight into the colonization of calf gut flora with ARGs in the early weeks. Although feed antibiotics exerted little effect on the ARGs monitored in this study, the fact that they also provided no health benefit suggests that the greater than conventional nutritional intake applied in this study overrides previously reported health benefits of antibiotics. The results suggest potential benefit of broader management strategies, and that cost and risk may be avoided by minimizing incorporation of antibiotics in milk replacer

To what extent do water reuse treatments reduce antibiotic resistance indicators? A comparison of two full-scale systems

Water reuse is an essential strategy for reducing water demand from conventional sources, alleviating water stress, and promoting sustainability, but understanding the effectiveness of associated treatment processes as barriers to the spread of antibiotic resistance is an important consideration to protecting human health. We comprehensively evaluated the reduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in two field-operational water reuse systems with distinct treatment trains, one producing water for indirect potable reuse (ozone/biologically-active carbon/granular activated carbon) and the other for non-potable reuse (denitrification-filtration/chlorination) using metagenomic sequencing and culture. Relative abundances of total ARGs/clinically-relevant ARGs and cultured ARB were reduced by several logs during primary and secondary stages of wastewater treatment, but to a lesser extent during the tertiary water reuse treatments. In particular, ozonation tended to enrich multi-drug ARGs. The effect of chlorination was facility-dependent, increasing the relative abundance of ARGs when following biologically-active carbon filters, but generally providing a benefit in reduced bacterial numbers and ecological and human health resistome risk scores. Relative abundances of total ARGs and resistome risk scores were lowest in aquifer samples, although resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were occasionally detected in the monitoring well 3-days downgradient from injection, but not 6-months downgradient. Resistant E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were occasionally detected in the nonpotable reuse distribution system, along with increased levels of multidrug, sulfonamide, phenicol, and aminoglycoside ARGs. This study illuminates specific vulnerabilities of water reuse systems to persistence, selection, and growth of ARGs and ARB and emphasizes the role of multiple treatment barriers, including aquifers and distribution systems

The nitrogen cycle in the Broadbalk Wheat Experiment : recovery and losses of 15N-labelled fertilizer applied in spring and inputs of nitrogen from the atmosphere

15N-labelled nitrogen fertilizer (containing equal quantities of ammonium-N and nitrate-N) was applied in 4 consecutive years (1980–3) to different microplots located within the Broadbalk Wheat Experiment at Rothamsted, an experiment which has carried winter wheat continuously since 1843. Plots receiving 48, 96, 144 and 192 kg N/ha every year were given labelled fertilizer in mid-April at (nominally) these rates.Grain yields ranged from 1–2 t/ha on plots given no N fertilizer since 1843 to a maximum of 7·3 t/ha with 196 kg N/ha. On plots given adequate P and K fertilizer, between 51 and 68% of the labelled N was recovered in the above-ground crop; only about 40% was recovered where P deficiency limited crop growth. In 1981 fertilizerderived N retained in soil (0–70 cm) at harvest increased from 16 kg/ha, where 48 kg/ha was applied, to 38 kg/ha, where 192 kg/ha was applied. More than 80% of this retained N was in the plough layer (0–23 cm).Overall recovery of fertilizer N in crop plus soil ranged from 70 % to more than 90 % over the 4 years of the experiments. Losses of N were larger in years when spring rainfall was above average and when soil moisture deficits shortly after application were small.Crop uptake of unlabelled N derived from soil increased from 28 kg N/ha on the plot given no fertilizer N to 67 kg N/ha on the plot given 144 kg N/ha. The extra uptake of unlabelled N was mainly, if not entirely, due to greater mineralization of soil N in the plots that had been given N fertilizer for many years. Presumably fertilizer N increased the annual return of crop residues, which in turn led to an accumulation of mineralizable organic N, although there was only a small increase in total soil N content.Wheat given NH4-N grew less well and took up less N than wheat given N08-N in the relatively dry spring of 1980; there was little difference between the two forms of N in the wetter spring of 1981. In both years more fertilizer N was retained in the soil at harvest when fertilizer was applied as NH4-N than as N03-N.The N content of the soil in several plots of the experiment has been constant for many years, so that the annual removal of N is balanced by the annual input. A nitrogen balance for the plot given 144 kg fertilizer N/ha showed an average annual input of non-fertilizer N of at least 48 kg/ha, of which N in rain and seed accounts for about 14 kg/ha. The remainder may come from biological fixation of atmospheric N2 by blue-green algae, or from dry deposition of oxides of nitrogen and/or NH3 onto crop and soil. The overall annual loss of N from the crop–soil system on this particular plot was 54 kg N/ha per year, 28% of the total annual input from fertilizer and nonfertilizer N

A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (<0.1% to 38.3%), being positively correlated (p < 0.001) with regional atmospheric temperatures. Although most WWTPs removed large proportions of CTX-R coliforms, loads over 10 colony-forming units per mL were occasionally observed in final effluents. We demonstrate that CTX-R coliform monitoring is a feasible and affordable approach to assess wastewater antibiotic resistance status. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (&lt;0.1% to 38.3%), being positively correlated (p &lt; 0.001) with regional atmospheric temperatures. Although most WWTPs removed large proportions of CTX-R coliforms, loads over 103 colony-forming units per mL were occasionally observed in final effluents. We demonstrate that CTX-R coliform monitoring is a feasible and affordable approach to assess wastewater antibiotic resistance status