Advanced Molecular Sequencing For Qualitative And Quantitative Environmental Analyses

在加拿大，2015年城市污水处理厂（为2500万加拿大人服务）产生了78万干吨污泥/生物固体，估计每天产生170亿升城市污水。加拿大牲畜每年还消耗超过160万公斤抗生素，主要是为了促进生长或预防疾病。然而，这些抗生素中约有90%在动物的肠道中没有完全吸收，导致它们释放到环境中。此外，环境中的微生物也暴露于这些抗生素，导致抗生素耐药性。同样，医疗机构在城市污水处理厂的抗生素化合物总负荷中占很大比例（来自长期护理之家和医院的环丙沙星分别占37%和26.7%）。在过去的十年中，美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）批准了10种新的抗生素药物，以避免多药/抗生素耐药性，但它们目前在环境中的浓度和毒性尚未得到研究。事实上，抗生素耐药性给加拿大公民带来的成本可能高达数百亿美元。这是一个严重的问题，因为抗生素的发现没有一个匹配的平行路径来研究它们的环境影响和随着时间的推移而加剧的影响。* * 拟议的研究和工具仪器赠款旨在收购先进的分子测序，使用Simpliamp热循环仪，Ion Genestudio S5系统和Ion Chef系统之间集成的高通量测序。约克大学并不存在拟议中的设备，研究人员大多将样本送到其他实验室进行分析。拟议的设备将有四个主要目的：a）从各种基质（如废水、废水污泥、土壤、水和其他环境基质）中进行有效、精确和快速的定性和定量分子测序; B）验证各种拟议的抗生素耐药性; B）验证开发的生物工程技术;以及c）使用这些工具来支持约克大学不同部门的几个基于课程的本科生研究经验（CURE），这些经验涉及学生进行新颖的科学研究。所要求的先进分子测序系统将安装在创新的水技术能源研究（iWaTER）实验室，该实验室由土木工程系的申请人其他教员运行。这些设备将提供给合作研究人员和Lassonde工程学院的其他研究人员，并与负责iWaTER实验室所有设备的实验室经理进行讨论。

In Canada, an estimated 17 billion liter/day of municipal wastewater 780,000 dry tonnes of sludge/biosolids were generated in 2015 from municipal wastewater plants (serving 25 million Canadians). The Canadian livestock also consumes more than 1.6 million kilograms of antibiotics every year, mainly to promote growth or to prevent diseases. However, about 90% of these antibiotics are not entirely absorbed in the intestine of animals, resulting in their release to the environment. Moreover, the microorganisms in the environment are also exposed to these antibiotics causing antibiotic resistance. Similarly, the healthcare facilities contributed a large proportion of overall loading for antibiotic compounds in municipal wastewater treatment plants (ciprofloxacin from long-term care homes and hospitals contributed 37% and 26.7%, respectively). For the last decade, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 10 new antibiotic drugs to circumvent multidrug/antibiotic resistance, but their current concentrations and toxicity in the environment has not been explored. In fact, the costs due to the antibiotic resistance can run into tens of billions of dollars for Canadian citizens. This is a serious concern, as antibiotic discovery does not have a matching parallel path of study of their environmental effects and the effects which are exacerbated over time. ******The proposed research and tools instrument grant aim at the acquisition of advanced molecular sequencing using high-throughput sequencing integrated between Simpliamp Thermal Cycler, Ion Genestudio S5 System, and Ion Chef System. The proposed equipment does not exist at York University and researchers were mostly sending their samples in other laboratories for analysis. The proposed equipment will serve four main purposes: a) efficient, precise and rapid qualitative and quantitative Molecular sequencing from various matrices, such as wastewater, wastewater sludge, soils, water, and other environmental matrices; b) validation of various proposed antibiotic resistance, b) validate the developed Bioengineering technologies; and c) use these instrument to support several course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) at different departments at York University that involves students in novel scientific research. The requested advanced molecular sequencing system will be installed in innovative Water Technologies for Energy Research (iWaTER) laboratory that is running by the applicant other faculty members at Civil Engineering department. The equipment will be made available to the collaborating researchers and other researchers of Lassonde School of Engineering on priority and reservation basis in discussion with the laboratory manager who is responsible for all equipment in the iWaTER laboratory.