Urban stream microbial communities show resistance to pharmaceutical exposure

Residues of pharmaceuticals are increasingly detected in surface waters throughout the world. In four streams in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we detected analgesics, stimulants, antihistamines, and antibiotics using passive organic samplers. We exposed biofilm communities in these streams to the common...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEcosphere (Washington, D.C) Vol. 9; no. 1
Main Authors Rosi, E. J., Bechtold, H. A., Snow, D., Rojas, M., Reisinger, A. J., Kelly, J. J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2018
Wiley
Subjects
Antibiotics
Biofilms
Caffeine
Community composition
Contaminants
Drug resistance
Drugs
ecological function
Ecosystems
Exposure
Hypotheses
Microbial activity
Organic chemicals
Pharmaceuticals
pharmaceuticals and personal care products
Respiration
Samplers
Scholarships & fellowships
Surface water
Taxonomy
Urban areas
urban land use
Water pollution
Watersheds
United States > US
Maryland
Baltimore Maryland
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Summary:Residues of pharmaceuticals are increasingly detected in surface waters throughout the world. In four streams in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we detected analgesics, stimulants, antihistamines, and antibiotics using passive organic samplers. We exposed biofilm communities in these streams to the common drugs caffeine, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, and diphenhydramine. Respiration rates in the least urban stream were suppressed when exposed to these drugs, but biofilm functioning in the most urban stream was resistant to drug exposure. Exposure to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin altered bacterial community composition at all sites, with the greatest change occurring in the most urban stream. These results indicated that continuous exposure to drugs in urban streams may select for sub‐populations of highly resistant bacteria that maintain community function in response to urban contaminants.
ISSN:2150-8925
2150-8925
DOI:10.1002/ecs2.2041