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Yu D, Ryu K, Zhi S, Otto SJG, Neumann NF. Naturalized Escherichia coli in Wastewater and the Co-evolution of Bacterial Resistance to Water Treatment and Antibiotics. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:810312. [PMID: 35707173 PMCID: PMC9189398 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.810312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance represents one of the most pressing concerns facing public health today. While the current antibiotic resistance crisis has been driven primarily by the anthropogenic overuse of antibiotics in human and animal health, recent efforts have revealed several important environmental dimensions underlying this public health issue. Antibiotic resistant (AR) microbes, AR genes, and antibiotics have all been found widespread in natural environments, reflecting the ancient origins of this phenomenon. In addition, modern societal advancements in sanitation engineering (i.e., sewage treatment) have also contributed to the dissemination of resistance, and concerningly, may also be promoting the evolution of resistance to water treatment. This is reflected in the recent characterization of naturalized wastewater strains of Escherichia coli-strains that appear to be adapted to live in wastewater (and meat packing plants). These strains carry a plethora of stress-resistance genes against common treatment processes, such as chlorination, heat, UV light, and advanced oxidation, mechanisms which potentially facilitate their survival during sewage treatment. These strains also carry an abundance of common antibiotic resistance genes, and evidence suggests that resistance to some antibiotics is linked to resistance to treatment (e.g., tetracycline resistance and chlorine resistance). As such, these naturalized E. coli populations may be co-evolving resistance against both antibiotics and water treatment. Recently, extraintestinal pathogenic strains of E. coli (ExPEC) have also been shown to exhibit phenotypic resistance to water treatment, seemingly associated with the presence of various shared genetic elements with naturalized wastewater E. coli. Consequently, some pathogenic microbes may also be evolving resistance to the two most important public health interventions for controlling infectious disease in modern society-antibiotic therapy and water treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Yu
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Antimicrobial Resistance – One Health Consortium, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kanghee Ryu
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Antimicrobial Resistance – One Health Consortium, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Shuai Zhi
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
- The Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Simon J. G. Otto
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Antimicrobial Resistance – One Health Consortium, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Human-Environment-Animal Transdisciplinary Antimicrobial Resistance Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Healthy Environments, Centre for Health Communities, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Norman F. Neumann
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Antimicrobial Resistance – One Health Consortium, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Zhi S, Banting G, Stothard P, Ashbolt NJ, Checkley S, Meyer K, Otto S, Neumann NF. Evidence for the evolution, clonal expansion and global dissemination of water treatment-resistant naturalized strains of Escherichia coli in wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 156:208-222. [PMID: 30921537 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We previously demonstrated the existence of naturalized strains of E. coli in wastewater and herein perform an in-depth comparative whole genome analysis of these strains (n = 17). Fourteen of the Canadian E. coli strains, isolated from geographically separated wastewater treatment plants, were virtually identical at the core genome and were ≥96% similar at the whole genome level, suggesting clonal-relatedness among these isolates. Remarkably, these strains were shown to be extremely similar to the genome of an E. coli isolated from wastewater in Switzerland, suggesting a global distribution of these strains. The genomes of three other Canadian wastewater strains were more diverse but very similar to the genomes of E. coli isolates collected from U.S. wastewater samples. Based on maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis, wastewater strains from Canada, the U.S. and Switzerland formed a clade separate from other known enteric phylogroups (i.e., A, B1, B2, D, E) and the cryptic clades. All Canadian, Swiss and U.S. wastewater strains possessed a common SNP biomarker pattern across their genomes, and a sub-population (i.e., 14 Canadian and 1 Swiss strain) also possessed a previously identified wastewater-specific marker known as uspC-IS30-flhDC element. Biochemical heat mapping of 518 categories of genes recapitulated phylogeny, with wastewater strains phenotypically clustering separately from enteric and cryptic clades. Wastewater strains were enriched for stress-response genes (i.e., nutrient acquisition/deprivation, DNA repair, oxidative stress, and UV resistance) - elements reflective of their environmental survival challenges. Wastewater strains were shown to carry a plethora of known antibiotic resistance (AR) genes, the patterns of which were remarkably similar among all Canadian, U.S. and Swiss wastewater strains. Virulence gene composition was also similar among all the wastewater strains, with an abundant representation of virulence genes commonly associated with urinary pathogenic E. coli (UPEC) as well as enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) E. coli. The remarkable degree of similarity between all wastewater strains from Canada, Switzerland and the U.S. suggests the evolution and global-dissemination of water treatment-resistant clone of E. coli. These finding, along with others, raise some important concerns about the potential for emergence of E. coli pathotypes resistant to water-treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Zhi
- School of Public Health, Room 3-57, South Academic Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G7, Canada
| | - Graham Banting
- School of Public Health, Room 3-57, South Academic Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G7, Canada
| | - Paul Stothard
- Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, 1400 College Plaza, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Ashbolt
- School of Public Health, Room 3-57, South Academic Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G7, Canada
| | - Sylvia Checkley
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Kelsey Meyer
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Simon Otto
- School of Public Health, Room 3-57, South Academic Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G7, Canada
| | - Norman F Neumann
- School of Public Health, Room 3-57, South Academic Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G7, Canada.
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