Short-term inhalation exposure evaluations of airborne antibiotic resistance genes in environments

Zhenchao Zhou; Xinyi Shuai; Zejun Lin; Lingxuan Meng; Xiaoliang Ba; Mark A Holmes; Hong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2021.10.002

Short-term inhalation exposure evaluations of airborne antibiotic resistance genes in environments

J Environ Sci (China). 2022 Dec:122:62-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.10.002. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

Authors

Zhenchao Zhou¹, Xinyi Shuai², Zejun Lin², Lingxuan Meng², Xiaoliang Ba³, Mark A Holmes³, Hong Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental Technology, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DA , UK.
² Institute of Environmental Technology, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
³ Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DA , UK.
⁴ Institute of Environmental Technology, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: chen_hong@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 35717091
DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.10.002

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a sword of Damocles that hangs over humans. In regards to airborne antibiotic resistance genes (AARGs), critical knowledge gaps still exist in the identification of hotspots and quantification of exposure levels in different environments. Here, we have studied the profiles of AARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial communities in various atmospheric environments by high throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We propose a new AARGs exposure dose calculation that uses short-term inhalation (STI). Swine farms and hospitals were high-risk areas where AARGs standardised abundance was more abundant than suburbs and urban areas. Additionally, resistance gene abundance in swine farm worker sputum was higher than that in healthy individuals in other environments. The correlation between AARGs with MGEs and bacteria was strong in suburbs but weak in livestock farms and hospitals. STI exposure analysis revealed that occupational intake of AARGs (via PM₁₀) in swine farms and hospitals were 110 and 29 times higher than in suburbs, were 1.5 × 10⁴, 5.6 × 10⁴ and 5.1 × 10² copies, i.e., 61.9%, 75.1% and 10.7% of the overall daily inhalation intake, respectively. Our study comprehensively compares environmental differences in AARGs to identify high-risk areas, and forwardly proposes the STI exposure dose of AARGs to guide risk assessment.

Keywords: Airborne; Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs); Risk assessment; Short-term inhalation.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / analysis
Bacteria / genetics
Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
Genes, Bacterial*
Inhalation Exposure
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
Swine

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S