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

这项研究将检查国际航运中使用的后处理压载水中抗生素耐药基因(ARGs)和病原体的流行率。管理不当的压载水排放可能对人类健康产生重大影响，1991年秘鲁爆发霍乱弧菌，导致10,000多人死亡。尽管与压舱物相关的各种螃蟹和水母入侵物种的引入得到了很好的记录，但探索压舱物在全球微生物运输中的作用的研究是有限的。新加坡是研究压载水的理想地点，因为按货物吨位计算，新加坡是全球第二繁忙的港口。压舱物样本将从新加坡港的船只上收集，并将进行物理、化学和微生物参数的分析。新加坡国立大学(NUS)将与沿海水质专家金耀鸿博士合作进行研究。使用几种不同压载水处理方法的船舶的压载水微生物群将使用基于培养和分子的方法进行检测。将使用基于培养的方法来量化压载水的典型指示微生物：大肠杆菌、肠球菌和霍乱弧菌O1和O139。杜克大学和国立大学还将分别进行分子分析，包括通过下一代测序进行的元基因组学和针对13个常见ARG的定向PCR/qPCR分析。样本将从具有不同压载水处理方法的船舶上收集，基于培养的方法和分子方法的结果将通过方差分析和事后检验在不同的处理方法组中进行比较。此外，新加坡这项研究的压舱物样本将被分组，并与之前在美国几个国内港口收集的压舱物样本进行比较，这是S研究员正在进行的论文研究的一部分。该奖项由东亚和太平洋暑期学院计划资助一名美国研究生的夏季研究，由美国国家科学基金会和中国科技部联合资助。

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.