• 한국물환경학회지
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• 제28권6호
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• pp.911-916
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• 2012

Recently, antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in the environment are emerging as pollutants, since these genetic contaminants can eventually be transferred to human pathogens. The aim of this study was to develop the experimental model of antibiotic resistant gene (ARG) plasmid transfer as a function of various environmental conditions. For this purpose, the multi drug resistant plasmid pB10, which is known to be originally isolated from a wastewater treatment plant, was selected as a model transfer plasmid and Escherichia coli $DH5{\alpha}$ containing pB10 was used as a model donor. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, was selected as the recipient for the conjugation experiment. When the donor and recipient were exposed to various stressors including antibiotics and heavy metal as a function of the concentrations (10, 100 and, 1000 ppb), statistically increased plasmid transfer rate was observed at a concentration of 10 ppb of tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole compared to control (no antibiotic exposure). Accordingly, the developed experimental ARG model by various stressor is a promising tool for evaluating the dissemination of ARGs by micro-contaminants in aquatic environment.

• 상하수도학회지
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.797-803
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• 2013

Recently, a number of countries are now considering the reuse of effluents from wastewater treatment for various water applications. To improve the reuse of wastewater effluent, the development of appropriate micro-pollutant removal technology is necessary. Although several researche have been studied for removing micro-pollutants in water, little study has been conducted for the removal of emerging contaminant such as antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) by disinfection processes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the capacity of disinfection technologies such as chlorination, ozone, and electron beam, for removing antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and ARGs. Based on this study, better ARG removal can be achieved by ozonation and electron beam. Relatively, high CT values of chlorination or ozonation are needed to remove ARB and ARG compared to conventional pathogens.

• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.269-278
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• 2023

Antibiotics either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. However, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat with antibiotics. Infections caused by such bacteria often lead to severe diseases. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) can be horizontally transmitted across different bacterial species, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of how ARGs spread across various environments. In this study, we analyzed the plasmid sequences of 33 extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli isolated from pigs, farms, and their owners. We conducted an antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) with aztreonam and seven other antibiotics, as well as whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the strains using MinION. Our results demonstrated that the plasmids that did not harbor ARGs were mostly non-conjugative, whereas the plasmids that harbored ARGs were conjugative. The arrangement of these ARGs exhibited a pattern of organization featuring a series of ARG cassettes, some of which were identical across the isolates collected from different sources. Therefore, this study suggests that the sets of ARG cassettes on plasmids were mostly shared between pigs and their owners. Hence, enhanced surveillance of ARG should be implemented in farm environments to proactively mitigate the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.316-319
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• 2017

하수처리장 방류수와 하천 중의 항생제 내성인자 분포에 대한 상관성을 분석하기 위해 방류수와 상류 하천수, 하류 하천수를 대상으로 항생제 내성유전자와 전파 관련 유전자를 조사하였다. 3개 지점에서 134~183개의 항생제 내성유전자(ARG) 및 전파 관련 유전자(MGE)가 검출되었으며, 1개의 16S rRNA 유전자에 대한 ARG 및 MGE 유전자의 상대적인 총 합이 0.063~0.422 copy로 분석되었다. ARG와 MGE의 수와 존재량은 방류수에서 가장 높게 검출된 반면, 총 세균 수는 가장 적게 검출됨으로서 하수처리 과정에서 사멸된 세균에 포함된 유전자들이 검출된 것으로 판단된다. 또한 MGE의 존재량 양상이 ARG의 존재량과 상관관계를 보임으로서 항생제 내성균들의 내성기작이 자연내성보다는 획득내성일 가능성을 제시하였다.

• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.335-343
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics used in animal husbandry for disease prevention and treatment have resulted in the rapid progression of antibiotic resistant bacteria which can be introduced into the environment through livestock feces/manure, disseminating antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs). In this study, fecal samples were collected from the livestock farms located in Jeju Island to investigate the relationship between microbial communities and ARGs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Illumina MiSeq sequencing was applied to characterize microbial communities within each fecal sample. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR), ten ARGs encoding tetracycline resistance (tetB, tetM), sulfonamide resistance (sul1, sul2), fluoroquinolone resistance (qnrD, qnrS), fluoroquinolone and aminoglycoside resistance (aac(6')-Ib), beta-lactam resistance (bla_TEM, bla_CTX-M), macrolide resistance (ermC), a class 1 integronsintegrase gene (intI1), and a class 2 integrons-integrase gene (intI2) were quantified. The results showed that Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were dominant in human, cow, horse, and pig groups, while Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were dominant in chicken group. Among ARGs, tetM was detected with the highest number of copies, followed by sul1 and sul2. Most of the genera belonging to Firmicutes showed positive correlations with ARGs and integron genes. There were 97, 34, 31, 25, and 22 genera in chicken, cow, pig, human, and horse respectively which showed positive correlations with ARGs and integron genes. In network analysis, we identified diversity of microbial communities which correlated with ARGs and integron genes. CONCLUSION(S): In this study, antibiotic resistance patterns in human and livestock fecal samples were identified. The abundance of ARGs and integron genes detected in the samples were associated with the amount of antibiotics commonly used for human and livestocks. We found diverse microbial communities associated with antibiotics resistance genes in different hosts, suggesting that antibiotics resistance can disseminate across environments through various routes. Identifying the routes of ARG dissemination in the environment would be the first step to overcome the challenge of antibiotic resistance in the future.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.247-254
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• 2014

To investigate the acquisition of quinolone resistance, we examined mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of type II topoisomerase genes in ciprofloxacin (CIP)-resistant clinical isolates and in vitro mutants of Streptococcus parauberis. The CIP-resistant clinical isolates had one base change responsible for a Ser-79${\rightarrow}$Thr in the QRDR of parC. However, the CIP-resistant in vitro mutants had an altered QRDR of parC (Ser-79${\rightarrow}$Ile) that differed from that of the isolates. None of the CIP-resistant S. parauberis clinical isolates or in vitro mutants exhibited amino acid changes in gyrA or gyrB. However, even though involvement in the increased resistance was not clear, an Arg-449${\rightarrow}$Ser mutation outside of the QRDR of parE was detected in CIP-resistant mutant 2P1. These results suggest that the topoisomerase IV gene, parC (and possibly parE, as well), is the primary ciprofloxacin target in S. parauberis. Additionally we established a high-resolution melting (HRM) assay capable of detecting the dominant mutation in four type II topoisomerase genes conferring ciprofloxacin resistance. These rapid and reliable assays may provide a convenient method of surveillance for genetic mutations conferring antibiotic resistance.