Treated wastewater irrigation promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance into subsoil pore-water

Kampouris, Ioannis D.; Klümper, Uli; Agrawal, Shelesh; Orschler, Laura; Cacace, Damiano; Kunze, Steffen; Berendonk, Thomas U.

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106190

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Finally, a study in Germany compared ARGs in subsoil pore-water in fields irrigated with secondary-treated wastewater during periods of different irrigation intensity and a period with no irrigation. The relative abundance of sul , tet , qnr , bla and intl1 genes was higher during high-intensity irrigation compared to the irrigation break, and the relative abundance of several ARGs increased with increasing irrigation intensity [ 37 ]. A lab study was set up to replicate the field study and confirmed that the relative abundance of ARGs was higher in soils irrigated with treated wastewater versus freshwater [ 37 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relative abundance of sul , tet , qnr , bla and intl1 genes was higher during high-intensity irrigation compared to the irrigation break, and the relative abundance of several ARGs increased with increasing irrigation intensity [ 37 ]. A lab study was set up to replicate the field study and confirmed that the relative abundance of ARGs was higher in soils irrigated with treated wastewater versus freshwater [ 37 ]. Additionally, a study in Nigeria investigated soil irrigated with secondary-treated wastewater.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in Israel found soil moisture had a significant positive correlation with bacterial resistance to tetracycline and ciprofloxacin [ 41 ]. A study in Germany found that the relative abundance of sul1 and plasmid-borne qnrS genes in subsoil pore water increased with increasing temperature, and the relative abundance of sul1 genes was positively correlated with precipitation, but there was no correlation between ARGs and humidity [ 37 ]. Similarly, in Mexico, the prevalence of ARB in wastewater-irrigated soils was lower during the dry sampling period compared to the rainy period [ 36 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Spain, the field currently irrigated with untreated wastewater had the highest abundance of multi-resistant bacteria while the field previously irrigated with untreated wastewater and the rainfed control field had similar abundance of multi-resistant bacteria [ 25 ]. In a study in Germany, the relative abundance of ARGs was higher during periods with active irrigation compared to after a 4-month irrigation break [ 37 ]. In contrast, in China, there was no difference in the relative abundance of ARB and ARGs between fields currently vs. previously irrigated with wastewater [ 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Does Irrigation with Treated and Untreated Wastewater Increase Antimicrobial Resistance in Soil and Water: A Systematic Review

Slobodiuk

Niven

Arthur

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Population growth and water scarcity necessitate alternative agriculture practices, such as reusing wastewater for irrigation. Domestic wastewater has been used for irrigation for centuries in many historically low-income and arid countries and is becoming more widely used by high-income countries to augment water resources in an increasingly dry climate. Wastewater treatment processes are not fully effective in removing all contaminants, such as antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Literature reviews on the impact of wastewater irrigation on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment have been inconclusive and mostly focused on treated wastewater. We conducted the first systematic review to assess the impact of irrigation with both treated or untreated domestic wastewater on ARB and ARGs in soil and adjacent water bodies. We screened titles/abstracts of 3002 articles, out of which 41 were screened in full text and 26 were included in this review. Of these, thirteen investigated irrigation with untreated wastewater, and nine found a positive association with ARB/ARGs in soil. Out of thirteen studies focused on treated wastewater, six found a positive association with ARB/ARGs while six found mixed/negative associations. Our findings demonstrate that irrigation with untreated wastewater increases AMR in soil and call for precautionary action by field workers, their families, and consumers when untreated wastewater is used to irrigate crops. The effect of irrigation with treated wastewater was more variable among the studies included in our review, highlighting the need to better understand to what extent AMR is disseminated through this practice. Future research should assess factors that modify the effect of wastewater irrigation on AMR in soil, such as the degree and type of wastewater treatment, and the duration and intensity of irrigation, to inform guidelines on the reuse of wastewater for irrigation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Does Irrigation with Treated and Untreated Wastewater Increase Antimicrobial Resistance in Soil and Water: A Systematic Review

Slobodiuk

Niven

Arthur

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Twelve articles were compiled that documented the presence or concentration of specific ARGs targeted via PCR, qPCR, or high-throughput qPCR (Table 2) (Böckelmann et al, 2009;Barker-Reid et al, 2010;Fahrenfeld et al, 2013;Elkayam et al, 2018;Garner et al, 2018Garner et al, , 2019Harb et al, 2019;Marano et al, 2019;Rocha et al, 2019;Alygizakis et al, 2020;Yu et al, 2020;Kampouris et al, 2021). The ARGs most frequently targeted for analysis were sul1 (six articles), blaTEM (five articles), vanA (five articles), qnrS (four articles), ermB (three articles), and sul2 (three articles).…”

Section: Antibiotic Resistance Genes Reported Across the Compiled Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards risk assessment for antibiotic resistant pathogens in recycled water: a systematic review and summary of research needs

Garner

Organiscak

Dieter

et al. 2021

Environmental Microbiology

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Risk assessment is critical for identifying target concentrations of antibiotic resistant pathogens necessary for mitigating potential harmful exposures associated with water reuse. However, there is currently limited available data characterizing the concentrations of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in recycled water to support robust efforts at risk assessment. The objective of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize the existing literature documenting the presence and abundance of ARB and ARGs in recycled water. In addition, this review identifies best practices and explores monitoring targets for studying ARB and ARGs in recycled water to guide future work and identifies key research needs aimed at better supporting quantitative microbial risk assessment focused on recycled water and antibiotic resistance. Future efforts to collect data about ARB and ARG prevalence in recycled water should report concentration data per unit volume. Sample metadata should also be provided, including a description of treatment approach, a description of planned water uses (e.g., potable, irrigation), methods for conveyance to the point of use, and available physicochemical water quality data. Additional research is needed aimed at identifying recommended ARB and ARG monitoring targets and for developing approaches to incorporate metagenomic data into risk assessment.

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Impact of surface‐applied liquid manure on the drainage resistance profile of an agricultural tile‐drained clay till field

2022

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Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic environments is a concern due to human and animal health. Application of liquid manure on agricultural land is an important source of ARGs, where pathogens, antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, and selective agents are released. To improve our understanding of ARGs spreading through soils, our main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the soil as a barrier protecting water resources. Over the course of a year, profiles and abundances of ARGs and mobile genetic elements in soil and drainage from an agricultural tile‐drained clay till field were investigated upon liquid pig manure application by applying high‐throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting 143 genes. The findings were as follows: (a) 97 genes were detected, where only the transposon gene tnpA‐03/ IS6 was shared between the genes detected in drainage and those in acidified liquid manure or fertilized soils, indicating that liquid manure application had a limited impact on the drainage resistance profile; (b) intI1 gene was present in ∼60% of drainage samples in concentrations up to 1,634 intI1 ml–1; and (c) evapotranspiration from barley (Hordeum vulgare L., ‘KWS Irina’) and a low groundwater table appeared to reduce preferential transport to drainage during the first 3 mo of liquid manure application. Interestingly, the first preferential transport to drainage was observed immediately after the harvest of spring barley. Overall, during the monitoring year we found the soil to be an effective barrier against the spread of fecal ARGs even though the occurrence of the intI1 gene questions the barrier effect from previous years.

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Treated wastewater irrigation promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance into subsoil pore-water

Cited by 32 publications

References 64 publications

Does Irrigation with Treated and Untreated Wastewater Increase Antimicrobial Resistance in Soil and Water: A Systematic Review

Does Irrigation with Treated and Untreated Wastewater Increase Antimicrobial Resistance in Soil and Water: A Systematic Review

Towards risk assessment for antibiotic resistant pathogens in recycled water: a systematic review and summary of research needs

Impact of surface‐applied liquid manure on the drainage resistance profile of an agricultural tile‐drained clay till field

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