Celestene Sebag Investigates Antibiotic Resistant Genes in Water Resources

Celestene Sebag, graduate student from the University of Arkansas, worked with Dr. Wen Zhang to quantify the concentration of antibiotic resistance genes in water that would be used for agricultural irrigation or for reuse.

“We wanted to focus on the separation of extracellular and intracellular antibiotic resistance genes because sometimes studies ignore one or the other, so it’s not quite an accurate representation of the actual amount in the water,” Sebag said.

For the project, Sebag sourced water from several sites, which included surface water reservoirs, livestock waste ponds, water and waste treatment plants and rice fields.

Standard water treatment methods do not completely remove contaminants. Antibiotic resistance genes can lead to human health risk if reclaimed water is not properly treated. Arkansas does not currently have any reuse water regulations in place. This research could be used to help shape policies for water reuse guidelines.

“I’m passionate about sustainability, and overall water consumption is a big issue environmentally,” said Sebag. “My research would contribute to that water reuse problem because agriculture is one of the biggest users of fresh water.”

Sebag mentioned that the extraction kits and methods they currently have need more research and development to improve the recovery efficiency when extracting the DNA. However, the findings in her research showed the prevalence of ARGs in reuse water, and that determining the best method for reducing those levels is the best way to prevent antibiotic resistance from spreading.

Sebag received a seed grant from the AWRC under Section 104(b) of the Water Resources Research Act administered by the U.S. Geological Survey.