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Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gardner, CM; Volkoff, SJ; Gunsch, CK
Published in: Biotechnology and bioengineering
November 2019

The consumption of transgenic crops and their by-products has become increasingly common in the United States. Yet, uncertainty remains regarding the fate and behavior of DNA within food matrices once it exits the digestive track and enters into wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Because many transgenic crops have historically contained antibiotic resistance genes as selection markers, understanding the behavior and uptake of these transgenes by environmental microbes is of critical importance. To investigate the behavior of free transgenic crop DNA, thermophilic anaerobic batch reactors were amended with varying concentrations of transgenic crop genes (i.e., LUG, nptII, and bla) and the persistence of those genes was monitored over 60 days using quantitative PCR. Significant levels of nptII and bla were detected in extracellular DNA (eDNA). Furthermore, LUG maize marker genes were also detected in the control reactors, suggesting that other crop-derived transgenes contained within digested transgenic foods may also enter WWTPs. Possible bacterial transformation events were detected within the highest dose treatments at Days 30 and 60 of incubation. These findings suggest that within the average conventional digester residence times in the United States (30 days), there is a potential for bacterial transformation events to occur with crop-derived transgenes found in eDNA.

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Published In

Biotechnology and bioengineering

DOI

EISSN

1097-0290

ISSN

0006-3592

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

116

Issue

11

Start / End Page

3063 / 3071

Related Subject Headings

  • beta-Lactamases
  • Zea mays
  • Wastewater
  • Sewage
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Drug Resistance
  • Biotechnology
  • Anaerobiosis
 

Citation

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Gardner, C. M., Volkoff, S. J., & Gunsch, C. K. (2019). Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 116(11), 3063–3071. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.27134
Gardner, Courtney M., Savannah J. Volkoff, and Claudia K. Gunsch. “Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions.Biotechnology and Bioengineering 116, no. 11 (November 2019): 3063–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.27134.
Gardner CM, Volkoff SJ, Gunsch CK. Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions. Biotechnology and bioengineering. 2019 Nov;116(11):3063–71.
Gardner, Courtney M., et al. “Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions.Biotechnology and Bioengineering, vol. 116, no. 11, Nov. 2019, pp. 3063–71. Epmc, doi:10.1002/bit.27134.
Gardner CM, Volkoff SJ, Gunsch CK. Examining the behavior of crop-derived antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge batch reactors under thermophilic conditions. Biotechnology and bioengineering. 2019 Nov;116(11):3063–3071.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biotechnology and bioengineering

DOI

EISSN

1097-0290

ISSN

0006-3592

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

116

Issue

11

Start / End Page

3063 / 3071

Related Subject Headings

  • beta-Lactamases
  • Zea mays
  • Wastewater
  • Sewage
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Drug Resistance
  • Biotechnology
  • Anaerobiosis