Environmental antimicrobial resistance is associated with faecal pollution in Central Thailand's coastal aquaculture region

We assessed antimicrobial resistance (AMR) potential to seven major classes of antibiotics in Central Thailand's coastal aquaculture region using high-throughput qPCR targeting 295 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). In parallel, we used MinION next generation sequencing (NGS) of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, qPCR of faecal pollution makers, and conventional plate count methods for the comprehensive characterization of environmental microbiomes. We tested the hypothesis that aquaculture increases environmental AMR by comparing ARGs and MGEs in water and sediment samples from five aquaculture sites and their associated canals. There was no evidence from the ARG and MGE data that aquaculture is a major driver of environmental AMR in Central Thailand. Instead, the highest relative prevalence of resistance traits was found in Hua Krabue canal water influenced by urban pollution from Bangkok at the inland edge of the coastal aquaculture region. The sum of ARGs and MGEs, relative to 16S rRNA genes used as markers for overall bacterial abundance, was between 0.495 +/- 0.011 and 0.498 +/- 0.013 in Hua Krabue canal water, compared with at most 0.132 +/- 0.005 in all the other environmental samples. Corresponding patterns were observed for most faecal pollution markers, which were also elevated in Hua Krabue canal water.

Automated summary

The study found that aquaculture is not a major driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment in Central Thailand, with the highest prevalence of resistance traits observed in Hua Krabue canal water influenced by urban pollution from Bangkok.