Doctoral Dissertation Research: Antimicrobial resistance as a form of anthropogenic disturbance to primate gut microbiomes

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance, now considered a pressing public health concern, has propagated into the microbial communities of urban and natural environments around the world. Only recently has antimicrobial resistance been identified as an environmental contaminant and ecological concern; its impacts on wildlife and their environments remain relatively unknown. This doctoral dissertation project will characterize and quantify antimicrobial resistance in a primate species and its habitats, across different environmental conditions. Beyond contextualizing antimicrobial resistance in an endangered species and vulnerable landscape, this research will highlight the potential for transmission of resistant bacteria between hosts, including humans, and their environments. With far-reaching value for nonhuman primate conservation and husbandry, the results of this study will be shared with the scientific community (via collaborations, presentations, attendance of domestic and international conferences, and publications) and with the public (via science education and outreach). Although revolutionary for modern society, the ubiquitous use of antibiotics has resulted in the rapid development of antimicrobial resistance genes that persist in bacterial genomes, can be transferred to other microbes, and may be proliferating environmental reservoirs of resistance. Animals can acquire resistant bacteria either through exposure to direct antibiotic administration (e.g., through veterinary care) or to environments contaminated with antibiotics or resistance bacteria. Once incorporated into host-associated communities, known as microbiomes, resistant bacteria disrupt the symbiotic roles of commensal microbes and diminish the host’s immune function. Current understanding about the transmission and impacts of resistance derives primarily from studies of humans and clinically prominent animal models (i.e., laboratory rodents). To better understand and combat the ubiquitous ‘resistance crisis’ on a more comprehensive scale, a broader, ecological framework is necessary. The Co-PI’s dissertation research is focused on assessing antimicrobial resistance as a novel facet of anthropogenic disturbance that differentially impacts lemurs living along a gradient of disturbance (i.e., ranging from minimally to greatly disturbed natural habitats and captive settings). Using next-generation sequencing techniques, this project has three specific aims: to determine the abundance of antimicrobial resistance in (1) the gut microbiome of lemurs, (2) representative environmental microbiomes (from soil and water) across the lemurs’ habitats, and (3) the gut microbiome of lemurs directly experiencing acute and cumulative antibiotic exposure. By studying varying disturbances in lemurs and their environments, we will determine specific sources of antimicrobial resistance and highlight the resistance crisis as an ecological and conservation concern with the potential to impact wildlife worldwide. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.