OCCURRENCE OF ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE GENES IN AQUACULTURE SEAWATER IN ZHEJIANG, CHINA

The widespread use of antibiotics has led to the increase and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquatic environment. ARGs may cause severe eiwironmental and ecological damage and become an emerging microbial hazard that threatens human health. This study investigated the occurrence and changes of ARGs in seawaters. Methods: The samples were collected from the water and sewage of Penaeusyannamel aquaculture ponds, the seawater of white prawn and Scylla serrata polyculture ponds, and the seawater of Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. Eleven ARGs (tetA, tetG, strA, dfrAl, still!, vanA, ermB, aacCl, Bla(TEN4-1) and Bla(oxa-1)) were tested, and six ARGs (tetA, tetG, strA, dfrAl, stall and cmlA5) were detected and quantified by Real-time PCR. The six ARGs were common in aquaculture seawater, but their contents were somewhat different. The concentrations of staff and tetG were the highest. The relative abundances of ARGs were 4.37x10(-4) for sulII/16S rRNA, 4.34x10(-4) for tetG/16S rRNA, respectively. The relative abundance of ARGs in aquaculture ponds was usually higher than that of seawater reservoirs.