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Occurrence of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Their Genes in Bagmati River, Nepal

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Abstract

Polluted river water systems can contribute to the acquisition and propagation of antibiotic resistance in the ecosystem. This study focused on describing the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in a river system in relation to the concentration of organic pollutants. Water samples were collected in triplicate from 13 different sampling points of the Bagmati River and analyzed for physicochemical characteristics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the isolated organisms was studied using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It was observed that ARGs and antibiotic-resistance bacteria (ARB) showed a statistically significant positive connection with organic contaminants. The mean ratio of doxycycline, oxytetracycline, and sulphamethoxazole-resistant bacterial population to the total bacterial population was found to be 0.44 ± 0.068, 0.42 ± 0.067, and 0.46 ± 0.087, respectively. Here, 40 bacterial isolates were identified, of which 70% were Escherichia coli, 16% were Klebsiella spp., 5% were Staphylococcus aureus, 3% were Salmonella Typhi, 3% were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 3% were Alcaligenes faecalis. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed 80% of the bacterial isolates were multi-drug resistant. Frequent detection of selected genes (tetA and sul1) through conventional PCR in the isolates (90.6%) indicated that the river water was heavily contaminated with antibiotic resistance genes. Among the isolates harboring the genes, most of them were found to be phenotypically resistant to the respective antibiotics. The presence of therapeutically pertinent ARGs in the river system shows the necessity of keeping track of environmental antibiotic resistance and corrective measures to overcome challenges.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Lalitpur, Nepal for providing laboratory facilities during this research. This study was partially supported with a Master’s thesis grant by National Youth Council (NYC). This research work was partially supported with the aid of a grant from UNESCO and the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of UNESCO, IDRC, or its Board of Governors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Lalitpur, Nepal

    Pratikshya Shrestha, Tista Prasai Joshi, Jyoti Maharjan & Rosa Ranjit

  2. Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

    Pratikshya Shrestha, Sarala Nhemhaphuki, Kusal Sitoula & Dev Raj Joshi

  3. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea

    Prakash Shrestha

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  1. Pratikshya Shrestha
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Contributions

Conceptualization of the study by P. S, D. R. J, and T. P.J; Lab work, P. S., S. N. K. S.; Data analysis, P. S, T. P. J; writing-original draft preparation, P. S, D. R. J T. P.J and P. S review and editing; D. R. J, T.P.J, J. M, and R. R; supervision: D. R. J and T. P. J. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tista Prasai Joshi or Dev Raj Joshi.

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Shrestha, P., Prasai Joshi, T., Nhemhaphuki, S. et al. Occurrence of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Their Genes in Bagmati River, Nepal. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 475 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06499-y

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