intI 1 gene abundance from septic tanks in Thailand using validated intI 1 primers

• Published in: Applied and environmental microbiology Vol. 89; no. 11; p. e0107123
• Main Authors: Okonkwo, Valentine, Cholet, Fabien, Ijaz, Umer Z, Koottatep, Thammarat, Pussayanavin, Tatchai, Polpraset, Chongrak, Sloan, William T, Connelly, Stephanie, Smith, Cindy J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 29-11-2023
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Genes, Bacterial; Integrons; Thailand; Wastewater; Thailand; septic tanks; ARGs; class 1 integron integrase; decentralized wastewater treatment; AMR; wastewater treatment; Thailand; intI1; intI1 qPCR primers
• ISSN: 0099-2240; 1098-5336
• DOI: 10.1128/aem.01071-23

Antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis, and wastewater treatment, including septic tanks, remains an important source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. The role of septic tanks in disseminating class 1 integron, and by extension AMR genes, in Thailand, where antibiotic use is unregulated remains understudied. We aimed to monitor gene abundance as a proxy to infer potential AMR from septic tanks in Thailand. We evaluated published
1 primers due to the lack of consensus on optimal Q-PCR primers and the absence of standardization. Our findings confirmed septic tanks are a source of class 1 integron to the environment. We highlighted the significance of
1 primer choice, in the context of interpretation of risk associated with AMR spread from septic tanks. We recommend the validated set (F3-R3) for optimal
1 quantification toward the goal of achieving standardization across studies.