Analysis of antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from the Yitong River in North-east China

Highlights

The concentrations of four types of antibiotics in the Yitong River were detected.

The concentration of total coliforms in summer was higher than that in spring.

There was a seasonal difference in antibiotic resistance of E. coli.

The E. coli in the Yitong River was found to have multiple antibiotic resistance.

Abstract

The Yitong River is one of the largest secondary tributaries of the Songhua River. The area where the Yitong River flows is densely populated and contains the livestock and poultry breeding areas of north-east China. These areas introduce a high risk of antibiotic contamination. In this study, the concentrations of four types of typical antibiotics including quinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim were determined by solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography. The antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli caused by antibiotic pollution was investigated. The concentration of total coliforms in the Yitong River was detected by the plate counting method. The antibiotic resistance of E. coli to quinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim was analyzed by the Kirby-Bauer method. The results showed that the concentration of total coliforms in the summer was higher than that in the spring. There was a seasonal difference in the resistance rate of E. coli to antibiotics except trimethoprim. The antibiotic resistance to fluoroquinolones was relatively low. The resistance rate to tetracyclines was higher during the summer. Moreover, resistance to several antibiotics was observed in all sections. This study provides basic data for research on pollution characteristics and prevention of antibiotic exposure in rivers.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Yitong River / Coliform bacteria / Antibiotic resistance / Escherichia coli

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Special S&T Project on Treatment and Control of Water Pollution (No. 2014ZX07201-011-008), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51809044), Environmental Protection Project of Ecology and Environment Department of Jilin Province (2018-10), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M630314), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2412018QD020), and the Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Projects (No. 20190103136JH).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1123-6 and is accessible for authorized users.

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