Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments
Abstract Background Despite being recognised as a global problem, our understanding of human-mediated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread to remote regions of the world is limited. Antarctica, often referred to as “the last great wilderness”, is experiencing increasing levels of human visitation t...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Microbiome |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00671-z |
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| author | Melody S Clark Benjamin H Gregson Carla Greco Harisree Paramel Nair Marlon Clark Claire Evans Kevin A. Hughes Kudzai Hwengwere Marcus Leung Lloyd S Peck Caray A. Walker William Chow |
| author_facet | Melody S Clark Benjamin H Gregson Carla Greco Harisree Paramel Nair Marlon Clark Claire Evans Kevin A. Hughes Kudzai Hwengwere Marcus Leung Lloyd S Peck Caray A. Walker William Chow |
| author_sort | Melody S Clark |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Despite being recognised as a global problem, our understanding of human-mediated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread to remote regions of the world is limited. Antarctica, often referred to as “the last great wilderness”, is experiencing increasing levels of human visitation through tourism and expansion of national scientific operations. Therefore, it is critical to assess the impact that these itinerant visitors have on the natural environment. This includes monitoring human-mediated AMR, particularly around population concentrations such as visitor sites and Antarctic research stations. This study takes a sequencing discovery-led approach to investigate levels and extent of AMR around the Rothera Research Station (operated by the UK) on the Antarctic Peninsula. Results Amplicon sequencing of biofilms and sediments from the vicinity of Rothera Research Station revealed highly variable and diverse microbial communities. Analysis of AMR genes generated from long-reads Nanopore MinION sequencing showed similar site variability in both drug class and resistance mechanism. Thus, no site sampled was more or less diverse than the other, either in the biofilm or sediment samples. Levels of enteric bacteria in biofilm and sediment samples were low at all sites, even in biofilm samples taken from the station sewage treatment plant (STP). It would appear that incorporation of released enteric bacteria in wastewater into more established biofilms or associations with sediment was poor. This was likely due to the inactivation and vulnerability of these bacteria to the extreme environmental conditions in Antarctica. Conclusions Our results suggest minimal effect of a strong feeder source (i.e. sewage effluent) on biofilm and sediment microbial community composition, with each site developing its unique niche community. The factors producing these niche communities need elucidation, alongside studies evaluating Antarctic microbial physiologies. Our data from cultivated bacteria show that they are highly resilient to different environmental conditions and are likely to thrive in a warmer world. Our data show that AMR in the Antarctic marine environment is far more complex than previously thought. Thus, more work is required to understand the true extent of the Antarctic microbiota biodiversity, their associated resistomes and the impact that human activities have on the Antarctic environment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a7724fdc17fa483799c7d4fd614c02b2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2524-6372 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Microbiome |
| spelling | doaj-art-a7724fdc17fa483799c7d4fd614c02b22025-01-26T12:53:20ZengBMCEnvironmental Microbiome2524-63722025-01-0120111710.1186/s40793-025-00671-zAssessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sedimentsMelody S Clark0Benjamin H Gregson1Carla Greco2Harisree Paramel Nair3Marlon Clark4Claire Evans5Kevin A. Hughes6Kudzai Hwengwere7Marcus Leung8Lloyd S Peck9Caray A. Walker10William Chow11British Antarctic Survey Natural, Environment Research CouncilSchool of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin UniversityBasecamp Research LtdSchool of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin UniversityBasecamp Research LtdOcean Biogeosciences, National Oceanography CentreBritish Antarctic Survey Natural, Environment Research CouncilBritish Antarctic Survey Natural, Environment Research CouncilBasecamp Research LtdBritish Antarctic Survey Natural, Environment Research CouncilSchool of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin UniversityBasecamp Research LtdAbstract Background Despite being recognised as a global problem, our understanding of human-mediated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread to remote regions of the world is limited. Antarctica, often referred to as “the last great wilderness”, is experiencing increasing levels of human visitation through tourism and expansion of national scientific operations. Therefore, it is critical to assess the impact that these itinerant visitors have on the natural environment. This includes monitoring human-mediated AMR, particularly around population concentrations such as visitor sites and Antarctic research stations. This study takes a sequencing discovery-led approach to investigate levels and extent of AMR around the Rothera Research Station (operated by the UK) on the Antarctic Peninsula. Results Amplicon sequencing of biofilms and sediments from the vicinity of Rothera Research Station revealed highly variable and diverse microbial communities. Analysis of AMR genes generated from long-reads Nanopore MinION sequencing showed similar site variability in both drug class and resistance mechanism. Thus, no site sampled was more or less diverse than the other, either in the biofilm or sediment samples. Levels of enteric bacteria in biofilm and sediment samples were low at all sites, even in biofilm samples taken from the station sewage treatment plant (STP). It would appear that incorporation of released enteric bacteria in wastewater into more established biofilms or associations with sediment was poor. This was likely due to the inactivation and vulnerability of these bacteria to the extreme environmental conditions in Antarctica. Conclusions Our results suggest minimal effect of a strong feeder source (i.e. sewage effluent) on biofilm and sediment microbial community composition, with each site developing its unique niche community. The factors producing these niche communities need elucidation, alongside studies evaluating Antarctic microbial physiologies. Our data from cultivated bacteria show that they are highly resilient to different environmental conditions and are likely to thrive in a warmer world. Our data show that AMR in the Antarctic marine environment is far more complex than previously thought. Thus, more work is required to understand the true extent of the Antarctic microbiota biodiversity, their associated resistomes and the impact that human activities have on the Antarctic environment.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00671-zBiofilmSedimentNanoporeBacteriaDrug classResistance mechanism |
| spellingShingle | Melody S Clark Benjamin H Gregson Carla Greco Harisree Paramel Nair Marlon Clark Claire Evans Kevin A. Hughes Kudzai Hwengwere Marcus Leung Lloyd S Peck Caray A. Walker William Chow Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments Environmental Microbiome Biofilm Sediment Nanopore Bacteria Drug class Resistance mechanism |
| title | Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| title_full | Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| title_short | Assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore Antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| title_sort | assessing the impact of sewage and wastewater on antimicrobial resistance in nearshore antarctic biofilms and sediments |
| topic | Biofilm Sediment Nanopore Bacteria Drug class Resistance mechanism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00671-z |
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