Diversity of antibiotic resistance genes and encoding ribosomal protection proteins gene in livestock waste polluted environment

The rapid development and increase of antibiotic resistance are global phenomena resulting from the extensive use of antibiotics in human clinics and animal feeding operations. Antibiotics can promote the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which can be transferred horizontally to humans and animals through water and the food chain. In this study, the presence and abundance of ARGs in livestock waste was monitored by quantitative PCR. A diverse set of bacteria and tetracycline resistance genes encoding ribosomal protection proteins (RPPs) from three livestock farms and a river were analyzed through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The abundance of sul(I) was 10³ to 10⁵ orders of magnitude higher than that of sul(II). Among 11 tet-ARGs, the most abundant was tet(O). The results regarding bacterial diversity indicated that the presence of antibiotics might have an evident impact on bacterial diversity at every site, particularly at the investigated swine producer. The effect of livestock waste on the bacterial diversity of soil was stronger than that of water. Furthermore, a sequencing analysis showed that tet(M) exhibited two genotypes, while the other RPPs-encoding genes exhibited at least three genotypes. This study showed that various ARGs and RPPs-encoding genes are particularly widespread among livestock.     

Abundance and removal of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the rearing environments of intensive shrimp aquaculture in South China

Although research regarding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquaculture environments has gained increasing scientific interest, further studies are required to understand the abundances and removal mechanisms of ARGs during the entire rearing period of shrimp aquaculture. Thus, in this study, abundances, distributions and removal rates of ARGs in different environmental compartments of intensive shrimp farms in South China were investigated during the entire rearing period. The results indicated that sul1 and cmlA were the predominant ARGs in the water and sediment samples. Additionally, the total abundance of ARGs was higher in shrimp pond water than in the source water and farm effluent. Moreover, sediment samples indicated significantly higher ARG abundances than water samples from the shrimp ponds (P?<?0.05). Environmental factors were found to significantly affect the distribution of ARGs in shrimp rearing environments. Furthermore, stable ponds aided the removal of ARGs from shrimp pond water. This study accounted for temporal variations in ARG abundances as well as removal of ARGs in different environmental compartments during the entire shrimp rearing period. However, additional research is required to optimize the water treatment process for removal of ARGs from the aquaculture.     

垃圾填埋场中真细菌群落16S rRNA基因的分析

回灌式垃圾填埋场渗滤液中真细菌群落的多样性同样通过不依赖于微生物培养的分析而获得。利用特异性的引物对,选择性地扩增渗滤液DNA中的真细菌16S rRNA基因片断(16S rDNA),并用于构建16S rDNA克隆文库。文库内真细菌16S rDNA的遗传多样性通过限制片断长度多态性分析(RFLP,限制性内切酶Hin PII和Msp I)而获得。初步的结果表明,随机选出的200个真细菌克隆子被分为147个不同的RFLP型(组),当中丰度最高的两个型均仅含有9个克隆子,两者共占所有被分析克隆子的不到10%;克隆子数≥2的型共有21个(包括以上2个丰度最高的型),它们共代表74个克隆子,占所有被分析克隆子的37%;而剩下的126个型均只含有1个克隆子,它们共占整个基因文库的63%。由此可见,李坑垃圾渗滤液中的真细菌具有非常复杂的群落结构。     

斑鳢等鱼贝类去毒相关基因的克隆

采用RT-PCR和RACE法,克隆得到斑鳢、鲢鱼CYPlA与斑鳢HSP70基因cDNA的核心序列,序列长度分别为908 bp、902 bp、684 bp,分别编码302、300、228个氨基酸;还克隆得到斑鳢、近江牡蛎GPX基因cDNA的部分序列,长度分别为720 bp、727 bp,分别编码119、232个氨基酸.多个重要养殖水生动物的去毒相关基因的成功克隆,为水产养殖动物去毒相关基因结构、功能、表达调控研究以及今后定向筛选高食用安全保障的水产品奠定基础.     

抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)——一种新型环境污染物

抗生素的环境污染与生态毒性近年来引起了日益广泛的关注.水产养殖和畜牧业抗生素长期滥用的直接后果,很可能诱导动物体内抗生素抗性基因,经排泄后将对养殖区域及其周边环境造成潜在基因污染.抗性基因还极有可能在环境中传播、扩散.对公共健康和食品、饮用水安全构成威胁.为此,提出了将抗生素抗性基因作为一类新型环境污染物,对该类污染物在环境中的来源、潜在的传播途径以及国内外相关研究进展进行综述,指出了当前形势下我国开展环境中抗生素抗性基因污染研究的必要性,建议尽快从国家层面上系统进行抗生素抗性基因的环境污染机理与控制对策研究.     

Effectiveness of Africa's tropical protected areas for maintaining forest cover

The effectiveness of parks for forest conservation is widely debated in Africa, where increasing human pressure, insufficient funding, and lack of management capacity frequently place significant demands on forests. Tropical forests house a substantial portion of the world's remaining biodiversity and are heavily affected by anthropogenic activity. We analyzed park effectiveness at the individual (224 parks) and national (23 countries) level across Africa by comparing the extent of forest loss (as a proxy for deforestation) inside parks to matched unprotected control sites. Although significant geographical variation existed among parks, the majority of African parks had significantly less forest loss within their boundaries (e.g., Mahale Park had 34 times less forest loss within its boundary) than control sites. Accessibility was a significant driver of forest loss. Relatively inaccessible areas had a higher probability (odds ratio >1, p < 0.001) of forest loss but only in ineffective parks, and relatively accessible areas had a higher probability of forest loss but only in effective parks. Smaller parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than larger parks (T = ?2.32, p < 0.05), and older parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than younger parks (F_2,154 = ?4.11, p < 0.001). Our analyses, the first individual and national assessment of park effectiveness across Africa, demonstrated the complexity of factors (such as geographical variation, accessibility, and park size and age) influencing the ability of a park to curb forest loss within its boundaries.     

Implications of Macroalgal Isolation by Distance for Networks of Marine Protected Areas

The global extent of macroalgal forests is declining, greatly affecting marine biodiversity at broad scales through the effects macroalgae have on ecosystem processes, habitat provision, and food web support. Networks of marine protected areas comprise one potential tool that may safeguard gene flow among macroalgal populations in the face of increasing population fragmentation caused by pollution, habitat modification, climate change, algal harvesting, trophic cascades, and other anthropogenic stressors. Optimal design of protected area networks requires knowledge of effective dispersal distances for a range of macroalgae. We conducted a global meta‐analysis based on data in the published literature to determine the generality of relation between genetic differentiation and geographic distance among macroalgal populations. We also examined whether spatial genetic variation differed significantly with respect to higher taxon, life history, and habitat characteristics. We found clear evidence of population isolation by distance across a multitude of macroalgal species. Genetic and geographic distance were positively correlated across 49 studies; a modal distance of 50–100 km maintained F_ST < 0.2. This relation was consistent for all algal divisions, life cycles, habitats, and molecular marker classes investigated. Incorporating knowledge of the spatial scales of gene flow into the design of marine protected area networks will help moderate anthropogenic increases in population isolation and inbreeding and contribute to the resilience of macroalgal forests. Implicaciones del Aislamiento por Distancia de Macroalgas para Redes de Áreas Marinas Protegidas     

Applications of Very High‐Resolution Imagery in the Study and Conservation of Large Predators in the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is one of the most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet due to the effects of climate change and commercial fishing for ecologically important krill and fish. Because sea ice loss is expected to be accompanied by declines in krill and fish predators, decoupling the effects of climate and anthropogenic changes on these predator populations is crucial for ecosystem‐based management of the Southern Ocean. We reviewed research published from 2007 to 2014 that incorporated very high‐resolution satellite imagery to assess distribution, abundance, and effects of climate and other anthropogenic changes on populations of predators in polar regions. Very high‐resolution imagery has been used to study 7 species of polar animals in 13 papers, many of which provide methods through which further research can be conducted. Use of very high‐resolution imagery in the Southern Ocean can provide a broader understanding of climate and anthropogenic forces on populations and inform management and conservation recommendations. We recommend that conservation biologists continue to integrate high‐resolution remote sensing into broad‐scale biodiversity and population studies in remote areas, where it can provide much needed detail. Aplicaciones de Imágenes de Muy Alta Resolución en el Estudio y Conservación de Grandes Depredadores en el Océano Antártico     

气溶胶中抗生素抗性基因研究进展:以养殖场和医院为例

抗生素在医药和养殖业的大量使用导致耐药菌的出现,加速了抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)在不同环境介质中的传播扩散,抗生素耐药性已成为目前全球卫生、食品安全和发展的最大威胁之一。气溶胶作为ARGs的潜在储存库缺乏系统的研究数据,而通过空气传播具有较高抗生素抗性水平的细菌可能是引起重要疾病的主要传播途径。本文针对养殖场和医院2个抗生素大量使用的典型场所,对气溶胶中ARGs的污染现状、样品采集与检测技术进行综述,并探讨了这一环境污染的潜在风险,表明开展气溶胶中ARGs研究的必要性,并为以后需开展的工作提出几点建议。     

污水处理厂中红霉素抗药性基因的污染特征及选择性因子

采用固相萃取-高效液相色谱串联质谱(SPE-HPLC-MS/MS)检测分析了上海某污水处理厂中12种不同药品和个人护理品(pharmaceutical and personal care products,PPCPs)的含量水平和分布特征,采用实时荧光定量PCR方法定量检测分析了7种红霉素抗药性基因(ERY-ARGs)在污水处理厂中的分布和丰度变化.结果表明,在污水处理厂中共检出5种PPCPs(包括磺胺甲唑、红霉素、四环素、卡马西平和三氯生),浓度范围分别为24.5~38.7、47.5~49.2、43.1~85.4、2.5~3.9和423.2~8 973.3ng·L-1.两段A/O生物处理工艺对三氯生具有较好的去除效果,但对其余4种PPCPs的去除效果较差.与此同时,目标ERY-ARGs在污水处理厂中均被检出,在原水中的丰度达9.28×103(erm A)~1.83×108(ere A)copies·L-1,虽然两段A/O工艺能够显著降低污水中的ERY-ARGs(1.19 log~3.97 log),但其在最终处理出水中的浓度仍然较高.通过相关性分析可知,ERY-ARGs与红霉素和三氯生之间均具有显著相关性(P<0.05),表明污水处理厂中红霉素对ERY-ARGs的产生和传播具有重要影响,而三氯生对ERY-ARGs可能存在交叉选择性作用.