Multiple antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli from a tropical rain forest stream

Technical Report · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/666133· OSTI ID:666133

Carrasco, C E; Alvarez, H J; Ortiz, N; Bisbal, M; Arias, W; Baerga, C ^[1]; Hazen, T C ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico). Dept. of Biology
2. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Lab.

High densities of fecal coliforms were obtained from a pristine site and sewage contaminated site in a tropical rain forest watershed in Puerto Rico. Confirmation of fecal coliform isolates as Escherichia coli was significantly lower than for temperate waters. Antibiotic resistance and multiple antibiotic resistance were common for isolates at both sites; however, the site receiving sewage effluent had a greater proportion of multiple antibiotic resistant isolates. R. plasmids were recovered from 4 MAR isolates, 2 from each site. All recovered plasmids were approximately 1 kilobase. The recovered plasmid were also capable of transforming E. coli HB101 in vitro. The high concentrations of enterobacteriaceae, small R-plasmid size, R-plasmid transformability, and long term survival of fecal origin bacteria in tropical freshwater environments give increasing importance to adequate sewage treatment, and better indicator monitoring methods for tropical areas.

• Research Organization: E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., Savannah River Lab., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035; AC09-76SR00001
• OSTI ID: 666133
• Report Number(s): DP-MS--88-194; ON: DE98007479
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
ESCHERICHIA COLI
FECES
PLASMIDS
PUERTO RICO
SURVIVAL TIME
TROPICAL REGIONS
WATER POLLUTION