TA5 Ecotoxicity and Environmental Chemistry of Antibiotics
Room 17A/B, Level 4
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Tuesday, 11 November 2003
Chair: Aga, Diana ,
(203) Use of "Real Time" PCR for Quantifying Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment.
Graham, D1, Peak, N1, Smith, Marilyn2, Knapp, Charles1, Hanfelt, M3, Galland, J3, 1 University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA2 University of Kansas - Medical School, Kansas City, KS, USA3 Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
ABSTRACT- There is growing evidence that the use of antibacterial agents in agriculture is increasing the rate of antibiotic resistance development in microbial pathogens. This study was undertaken to assess the extent of resistance development associated with different farming practices in feedlots, ranging from no antibiotic use (organic farms) to regular sub-therapeutic applications. To compare the developed levels of antibiotic resistance associated with each farming practice, tetracycline resistance genes tet(O), tet(M), and tet(Q) were monitored and quantified over four months using real-time PCR. Real-time PCR provides the ability to track resistance genes quickly, efficiently, and quantitatively from mixed microbial samples. Preliminary results suggest that farming practices do, in fact, influence the level of antibiotic resistance in downstream waters, although more work is required to develop explicit criteria for regulating antibiotic use in feedlot operations.
Key words: Real-time PCR, Antibiotic resistence , Tetracyclines, Feedlots