Bioaccumulation of PCBs, HCB and PAHs in the summer plankton from West Spitsbergen fjords

Pouch, Anna; Zaborska, Agata; Dąbrowska, A.; Pazdro, Ksenia

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113488

Cited by 16 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

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“…Global warming is inducing widespread glacial melting and retreat, which has the potential to release ancient (from old ice layers) or modern (from the snow overlaying glaciers) genetic diversity to the environment (Mao et al., 2023; Segawa et al., 2013). At the same time, wastewater discharge and other human inputs also release microbes and other pollutants such as biocides and metals to Arctic fjords and other downstream environments, in turn increasing the gene pool of the marine resistome (Larsson & Flach, 2022; Makowska‐Zawierucha et al., 2022; Pouch et al., 2023; Sajjad et al., 2020). Meanwhile, the so‐called Atlantification of the Arctic (the ingress of warm ocean water currents into Arctic waters including oceans and fjords) will likely transport biotic and abiotic elements including pollutants from low latitude and boreal regions to pristine high‐latitude ecosystems (Csapó et al., 2021; Wichmann et al., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic plasmidome analysis reveals distinct relationships among associated antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence genes along anthropogenic gradients

Makowska‐Zawierucha,

Trzebny,

Zawierucha

et al. 2024

Global Change Biology

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Polar regions are relatively isolated from human activity and thus could offer insight into anthropogenic and ecological drivers of the spread of antibiotic resistance. Plasmids are of particular interest in this context given the central role that they are thought to play in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, plasmidomes are challenging to profile in environmental samples. The objective of this study was to compare various aspects of the plasmidome associated with glacial ice and adjacent aquatic environments across the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, representing a gradient of anthropogenic inputs and specific treated and untreated wastewater outflows to the sea. We accessed plasmidomes by applying enrichment cultures, plasmid isolation and shotgun Illumina sequencing of environmental samples. We examined the abundance and diversity of ARGs and other stress‐response genes that might be co/cross‐selected or co‐transported in these environments, including biocide resistance genes (BRGs), metal resistance genes (MRGs), virulence genes (VGs) and integrons. We found striking differences between glacial ice and aquatic environments in terms of the ARGs carried by plasmids. We found a strong correlation between MRGs and ARGs in plasmids in the wastewaters and fjords. Alternatively, in glacial ice, VGs and BRGs genes were dominant, suggesting that glacial ice may be a repository of pathogenic strains. Moreover, ARGs were not found within the cassettes of integrons carried by the plasmids, which is suggestive of unique adaptive features of the microbial communities to their extreme environment. This study provides insight into the role of plasmids in facilitating bacterial adaptation to Arctic ecosystems as well as in shaping corresponding resistomes. Increasing human activity, warming of Arctic regions and associated increases in the meltwater run‐off from glaciers could contribute to the release and spread of plasmid‐related genes from Svalbard to the broader pool of ARGs in the Arctic Ocean.

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