Genes of past, present and future: does legacy pollution contribute to antibiotic resistance in industrialised estuaries?

Development of antibiotic resistant (AR) bacteria diminishes the efficacy of antibiotics to the point that difficult-to-treat pathogens are encountered in water, beaches and seafood. Although the inappropriate use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture contributes to the problem, there is evidence that industrial pollution (e.g., organics and heavy-metal pollutants) have a strong role in AR development.

Can residual pollution in the environment from past industrial pollution continue to threaten present and future public/environmental health? Many chemicals do degrade in nature; however, certain signatures, e.g., persistent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals can remain in sediments providing continual stress to resident microorganisms.

Bacteria have the ability to acquire and disseminate mechanisms to deal with chemical stress; some of these mechanisms are either analogous or closely-linked (genetically) to genes to that provide antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the presence of metals (for example) can cause bacteria to harbour and spread these stress-response genes.

In this project, we will obtain sediment cores in former/current industrial areas along the Clyde estuary near Glasgow. We will determine chemical signatures in sediment layers and use radiometric (lead and caesium) assessment to determine "pollution age". Simultaneously, we will characterise the resident bacterial populations (via 16S-rRNA analysis) and types of resistance genes (metal and antibiotic) that they harbour to determine whether risk exist in zones of pollution.

Having the ability to compare different pollution conditions among stratified layers in the sediment and among different locations along the estuary; it will allow us to determine contributing factors towards resistance traits in microbial communities. This research will better inform us the risks associated with industrial pollution, and it can influence pollution-control and remediation strategies.

Who will benefit from this research?
1. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Environment Agency (EA) and other regulatory agencies throughout the world.
2. Professionals in several areas including, but not limited to fisheries, marine science, aquaculture, environmental engineering (e.g., Scottish Contaminated Land Forum, SCLF; NICOLE; SEDNET), and microbiological research.
3. Advanced training of research staff, and the enhanced collaborative interaction among Glasgow Research Partnership (GRPe; www.grpeng.ac.uk/) universities and other pool networks (SAGES/MASTS).
4. Wider public and interest groups with specific links to the Clyde (recreational fishing, water-use, sailing, estuarine ecology).

How will they benefit from this research?

Various governmental agencies and environmental professions will benefit from the research; the benefits are not specific to each agency, rather they do overlap:

1) SEPA maintains a monitoring network that identifies and resolves problems with the water environment, and they comply with the European Community (EC) Bathing Water Directive. This research will identify and help manage the risk of urban and rural pollution in our coastal and inland bathing waters.
2) Professionals, e.g. environmental engineers, will become aware of risks associated with construction and remediation efforts along industrial estuaries, where sediment disturbance and transport could occur.
3) Research staff and students working on this project will benefit by interacting within a multi-disciplinary research team, but also through engagement with environmental regulators and other organisations. They will gain insight not only into the technical aspects of the research, but also into the regulatory context of the work, enhancing their future employability in academia and also in industry.
4) Public interest groups indirectly through improved knowledge of estuary "health" - both from environmental quality and improved knowledge of estuarine dynamics and aquatic status.

What will be done to ensure that they benefit from this research?

The investigating group will actively engage and disseminate work through:
1) Annual meetings. Maintain engagements with SEPA, SCLF, EA, and the UK public/ environmental health agencies and interest groups. Develop new contacts and potential benefactors.
2) Cross-disciplinary training for researchers and students. The research team is part of the Joint Research Initiative under the Glasgow Research Partnership (www.grpeng.ac.uk) that fosters opportunities for students and researchers to work and interact across institutional boundaries.
3) communication with international and local interest groups / forums: e.g., SEDNET/NICOLE network meetings (EU), the Clyde Forum and Scottish Contaminated Land Forum (SCLAF).