Environmental Pollution

0269-7491

276

SCIE

[논문]Fish farm effluents as a source of antibiotic resistance gene dissemination on Jeju Island, South Korea

Hyejun Jo, Tatsuya Unno

Shahbaz Raza

Adeel Farooq

Jungman Kim (김정만)

The abuse or misuse of antibiotics is directly linked to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and
antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. Most fish farms located on Jeju Island operate a
flow-through system that pumps in seawater for fish farming and discharges it back to the ocean. To
investigate the amount of ARGs that these fish farm effluents discharge into the marine environment, we
conducted a metagenomic-based resistome analysis. We observed higher levels of ARGs in fish farm
effluents than in seawater at beach and residential areas. A greater proportion of ARGs was found on
plasmid rather than on chromosomal DNA, especially for sulfonamide and phenicol classes. The distribution
of ARGs did not differ between summer and winter, but the microbial community did. In addition,
fish farm samples contained significantly more opportunistic pathogens (i.e., Vibrio, Photobacterium,
Aliivibrio, and Tenacibaculum) and virulence factors than non-fish farm samples. Vibrio was the most
frequently identified host of ARGs and virulence factors. The presence of Vibrio in the coastal area has
been increasing owing to the recent rise in the temperature of seawater. This study suggests the need for
actions to treat or monitor ARGs in the coastal areas where fish farms operating a flow-through system
are located.

2021-05-01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116764