The impact of a freshwater fish farm on the community of tetracycline-resistant bacteria and the structure of tetracycline resistance genes in river water

• The impact of fish farm on the structure of ARB and ARGs in river water was assess.
• Culture-dependent survey revealed no significant differences in the abundance of ARB.
• No significant differences in the frequency of tet genes were observed.
• The fish farm’s impact on river water was manifested only by increased diversity of ARGs.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a fish farm on the structure of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in water of Drwęca River. Samples of upstream river waters; post-production waters and treated post-production waters from fish farm; as well as downstream river waters were monitored for tetracycline resistant bacteria, tetracycline resistant genes, basic physico-chemical parameters and tetracyclines concentration. The river waters was characterized by low levels of pollution, which was determined based on water temperature, pH and concentrations of dissolved oxygen and tetracycline antibiotics. Culture-dependent (heterotrophic plate counts, counts of bacteria resistant to oxytetracycline (OTCR) and doxycycline (DOXR), minimum inhibitory concentrations for oxytetracycline and doxycycline, multidrug resistance of OTCR and DOXR, qualitative composition of OTCR and DOXR, prevalence of tet genes in resistant isolates) and culture-independent surveys (quantity of tet gene copies) revealed no significant differences in the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes between the studied samples. The only way in which the fish farm influenced water quality in the Drwęca River was by increasing the diversity of tetracycline-resistance genes. However, it should also be noted that the bacteria of the genera Aeromonas sp. and Acinetobacter sp. were able to transfer 6 out of 13 tested tet genes into Escherichiacoli, which can promote the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment.