Quantifying nonspecific TEM beta-lactamase (blaTEM) genes in a wastewater stream.

ABSTRACT: To control the antibiotic resistance epidemic, it is necessary to understand the distribution of genetic material encoding antibiotic resistance in the environment and how anthropogenic inputs, such as wastewater, affect this distribution. Approximately two-thirds of antibiotics administered to humans are beta-lactams, for which the predominant bacterial resistance mechanism is hydrolysis by beta-lactamases. Of the beta-lactamases, the TEM family is of overriding significance with regard to diversity, prevalence, and distribution. This paper describes the design of DNA probes universal for all known TEM beta-lactamase genes and the application of a quantitative PCR assay (also known as Taqman) to quantify these genes in environmental samples. The primer set was used to study whether sewage

SUBMITTER: Lachmayr KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2612200 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature