DETECTION OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE GENES IN GROUNDWATER UNDER THE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING CITY OF PATNA, INDIA

Groundwater under urban areas faces numerous sources of potential contamination, including the presence of antimicrobial-laden wastes (Zainab et al., 2020). Worryingly, the use of antimicrobials has resulted in the emergence and transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in pathogenic bacteria found in groundwater which may be used as drinking water. This study aims to investigate and elucidate the occurrence of ARGs in the groundwater beneath the rapidly developing and highly populated city of Patna, Bihar, in northern India.

We report the first detection of three sulfonamide resistance genes in groundwater in India (at depths ranging from 12 to 91 m). The mean abundance of gene copies was generally sulI > sulII > sulIII in both groundwater (n = 15) and surface water (n = 3). By comparing ARGs and wastewater indicators, particularly tryptophan:fulvic-like fluorescence, we propose that wastewater contributes to the emergence of ARGs; infiltration of antibiotic residues here is plausibly exacerbated by extensive groundwater pumping (Richards et al., 2021; Lu et al., 2022). We suggest that the abundance of ARGs can serve as a tracer for wider anthropogenic contamination in groundwater. Additionally, we conclude that drainage channels, which carry hospital and domestic waste, are likely sources of antimicrobial resistance to groundwater and surface water, including the Ganges (Ganga) River. This study provides a novel insight into understanding the ingression of surface-derived contamination into urban aquifers. Overall, our findings underscore the need for effective monitoring and management strategies to safeguard urban groundwater resources from risks associated with antimicrobial contamination.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a 2022 University of Manchester-KTH seedcorn award, NERC Exploring Frontiers (NE/X010813/1 to LR & DP), the DST-Newton Bhabha-NERC-ESPRC Indo-UK Water Quality Programme (NE/R003386/1 and DST/TM/INDO-UK/2K17/55(C) & 55(G) to DP et al.; see www.farganga.org) and a Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellowship to LR.

References

Lu et al. (2022), ERJH, doi: 10.1016/J.EJRH.2022.101133

Richards et al. (2021), ENVPOL, doi: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2020.115765

Zainab et al. (2020), WATRES, doi: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2020.116455.