Global Survey of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Air.

Li J; Cao J; Zhu YG; Chen QL; Shen F; Wu Y; Xu S; Fan H; Da G; Huang RJ; Wang J; de Jesus AL; Morawska L; Chan CK; Peccia J; Yao M

doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b02204

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Journal article

Global Survey of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Air.

Li J State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering , Peking University , Beijing 100871 , China.
Cao J Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710049 , China.
Zhu YG Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xiamen 361021 , China.
Chen QL Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xiamen 361021 , China.
Shen F School of Space and Environment , Beihang University , Beijing 100191 , China.
Wu Y School of Environmental Science and Engineering , Shandong University , Jinan 250100 , China.
Xu S Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health , Seoul National University , Seoul 08826 , South Korea.
Fan H Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering , Columbia University , New York , New York 10027 , United States.
Da G CERTES, Université Paris-Est Créteil , Centre d'études et de Recherche en Thermique, Environnement et Systèmes (CERTES) , Créteil 94000 , France.
Huang RJ Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710049 , China.
Wang J Institute of Environmental Engineering , ETH Zurich , Zurich 8093 , Switzerland.
de Jesus AL International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health , Queensland University of Technology , GPO Box 2434, Brisbane , Queensland 4001 , Australia.
Morawska L International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health , Queensland University of Technology , GPO Box 2434, Brisbane , Queensland 4001 , Australia.
Chan CK School of Energy and Environment , City University of Hong Kong , Tat Chee Avenue , Kowloon , Hong Kong China.
Peccia J Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering , Yale University , New Haven , Connecticut 06520 , United States.
Yao M State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering , Peking University , Beijing 100871 , China.

2018-07-26

Published in:

Environmental science & technology. - 2018

English Despite its emerging significant public health concern, the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in urban air has not received significant attention. Here, we profiled relative abundances (as a fraction, normalized by 16S rRNA gene) of 30 ARG subtypes resistant to seven common classes of antibiotics, which are quinolones, β-lactams, macrolides, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, and vancomycins, in ambient total particulate matter (PM) using a novel protocol across 19 world cities. In addition, their longitudinal changes in PM2.5 samples in Xi'an, China as an example were also studied. Geographically, the ARGs were detected to vary by nearly 100-fold in their abundances, for example, from 0.07 (Bandung, Indonesia) to 5.6 (San Francisco, USA). The β-lactam resistance gene blaTEM was found to be most abundant, seconded by quinolone resistance gene qepA; and their corresponding relative abundances have increased by 178% and 26%, respectively, from 2004 to 2014 in Xi'an. Independent of cities, gene network analysis indicates that airborne ARGs were differentially contributed by bacterial taxa. Results here reveal that urban air is being polluted by ARGs, and different cities are challenged with varying health risks associated with airborne ARG exposure. This work highlights the threat of urban airborne transmission of ARGs and the need of redefining our current air quality standards in terms with public health.

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