Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2019NV168B

Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGS) in the Urban Wetland Exosystem: Las Vegas Wash

Institute: Nevada
Year Established: 2019 Start Date: 2019-06-01 End Date: 2020-05-31
Total Federal Funds: $24,953 Total Non-Federal Funds: $50,972

Principal Investigators: Xuelian Bai

Project Summary: The majority of antibiotics produced and consumed are excreted along with antibiotic resistant bacteria, into sewage or livestock waste, which eventually enter the urban water cycle to because a human health risk. Antibiotic resistance is considered one of the most increasing human health problems globally. Urban water supply reservoirs are highly threatened by antibiotic resistance due to municipal wastewater discharge. This proposed research attempts to fill in the knowledge gap by understanding the prevalence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the urban wetland ecosystem - i.e., Las Vegas Wash, in southern Nevada. This study will apply field sampling for water and sediments from the Las Vegas Wash for ARG determination and microcosm studies to evaluate the fate of ARGs under elevated antibiotic concentrations. Both microbial diversity and ARGs will be determined in the water and sediment samples and qPCR will be used to quantify the target gens. This novel research will provide insight into the abundance of ARGs in the urban water supplies and help understand the current antibiotic resistance in the natural environments with regards to human exposure and health effects.