Advanced Molecular Sequencing For Qualitative And Quantitative Environmental Analyses

在加拿大，2015年城市污水厂（服务于2500万加拿大人）产生了78万干污泥/生物固体，估计有170亿升/天的城市污水。加拿大家畜每年还消耗超过160万公斤的抗生素，主要是为了促进生长或预防疾病。然而，大约90%的抗生素在动物的肠道中没有被完全吸收，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，造成抗生素耐药性。同样，卫生保健设施在城市污水处理厂抗生素化合物的总负荷中占很大比例（来自长期护理院和医院的环丙沙星分别占37%和26.7%）。在过去的十年里，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，但它们目前的浓度和在环境中的毒性尚未得到探索。事实上，对加拿大公民来说，抗生素耐药性造成的成本可能高达数百亿美元。这是一个严重的问题，因为抗生素的发现并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拨款旨在通过Simpliamp Thermal Cycler， Ion Genestudio S5 System和Ion Chef System集成的高通量测序获得先进的分子测序。约克大学并不存在这种提议的设备，研究人员大多将他们的样本送到其他实验室进行分析。提议的设备将有四个主要目的：a)高效，精确和快速的定性和定量分子测序来自各种基质，如废水，废水污泥，土壤，水和其他环境基质；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；c)使用这些工具来支持约克大学不同院系的几个基于课程的本科生研究体验（CUREs），这些研究体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由申请人和土木工程系其他教师管理的创新水技术能源研究（iWaTER）实验室中。设备将在优先和保留的基础上，与负责iWaTER实验室所有设备的实验室经理讨论后提供给Lassonde工程学院的合作研究人员和其他研究人员。

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.