EAPSI: Characterizing the Global Proliferation of Antibiotic Resistance via Ballast Waters

这项研究将检查抗生素耐药基因（ARG）和病原体在国际航运中使用的后处理压载水中的流行情况。压载水排放管理不当会对人类健康产生重大影响，1991年秘鲁爆发霍乱弧菌，造成10 000多人死亡，就突出表明了这一点。尽管有大量文献证明压载相关的各种螃蟹和水母的入侵物种的引入，探索压载在微生物的全球运输中的作用的研究是有限的。新加坡是压载水研究的理想研究地点，因为它是世界上第二繁忙港口的所在地。将从新加坡港的船舶上采集压载物样本，并对其进行物理、化学和微生物参数分析。研究将在新加坡国立大学（NUS）与沿海水质专家Karina Yew-Hoong Gin博士合作进行。使用几种不同压载水处理方法的船舶的压载水微生物组将使用基于培养和分子的方法进行检查。 压载水的典型指示微生物：大肠杆菌、肠球菌、霍乱弧菌O 1和O 139将采用培养法进行定量。分子分析，包括通过下一代测序的宏基因组学和针对13种常见ARG的靶向PCR/qPCR分析，也将分别在杜克大学和新加坡国立大学进行。将从采用不同压载水处理方法的船舶中采集样本，并将通过ANOVA和事后检验在处理方法组之间比较基于培养和分子方法的结果。此外，压载样品从这项研究在新加坡将分组，并与压载样品以前收集的几个国内港口在美国作为研究员的一部分？该奖项是由美国国家科学基金会和中国科技部联合资助的东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目下的一个奖项，旨在资助美国研究生的暑期研究。

This research will examine the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens in post-treatment ballast water used in international shipping. Improperly managed ballast water discharge can have significant impacts on human health, highlighted by a Vibrio cholerae outbreak in Peru in 1991 that killed over 10,000 people. Despite well-documented ballast-associated introductions of invasive species of various crabs and jellyfish, research exploring the role of ballast in the global transport of microorganisms is limited. Singapore is an ideal study site for ballast water research because it is home to the second-busiest port by cargo tonnage in the world. Ballast samples will be collected from vessels in the Port of Singapore and will be analyzed for physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters. Research will be conducted at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in collaboration with Dr. Karina Yew-Hoong Gin, an expert in coastal water quality.The ballast water microbiome from vessels using several different ballast water treatment methods will be examined using culture-based and molecular methods. Culture-based methods will be used to quantify the typical indicator microbes of ballast water: Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, and Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139. Molecular analyses, including metagenomics via next-generation sequencing and targeted PCR/qPCR analysis for 13 common ARGs, will also be performed at Duke University and NUS, respectively. Samples will be gathered from vessels with different ballast water treatment methods and the results of culture-based and molecular methods will be compared across treatment method groups via ANOVA and post-hoc tests. In addition, ballast samples from this research in Singapore will be grouped and compared to ballast samples previously collected at several domestic ports in the United States as part of the researcher?s ongoing dissertation research.This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.