Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating the Role of Ecotourism in Driving Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Gut Microbiomes of a Critically Endangered Lemur

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation project examines the impact of ecotourism on the health of four non-human primate species. The development of antimicrobial agents positively transformed the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. This innovation, however, unintendedly triggered the evolution of antimicrobial resistance genes in pathogens. These genes are transmitted both vertically (parent-offspring) and horizontally (between unrelated organisms) which permits their transfer between species. Antimicrobial agents and resistance genes have led to an accelerated evolutionary arms race between pathogens and hosts. Thus, identifying antimicrobial resistance genes and their transmission is fundamental to our knowledge of current and future epidemiological scenarios. The study establishes geographic patterns of ecotourism-associated human activity with imaging technology. Soil samples are analyzed to determine whether ecotourists unwittingly create reservoirs of microbiome antimicrobial resistance genes in the soil. Researchers analyze non-human primate fecal samples to establish the presence and patterns of microbiome antimicrobial resistance genes in these species. Results from this study reveal the levels of antimicrobial resistance among wild non-human primates. The study provides training and learning opportunities for students and inform the effectiveness and consequences of a common conservation strategy (ecotourism). The introduction of new antimicrobial resistance genes into non-human primates’ gut microbial communities has the potential to generate microbiome unbalances and negatively impact these species health. As ecotourists enter protected areas with greater frequency and come in close contact with non-human primate species, they increase the chances that they leave behind new antimicrobial resistance that threatens these species long-term survival. This dissertation project has three specific objectives: (1) understand how ecotourists are distributed across these species' landscapes, (2) determine if ecotourists posit a threat to these species through the creation of environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance, and (3) examine the role of ecotourists as vectors of antimicrobial resistance. To achieve these objectives, researchers leverage camera trap data spanning back to 2017 in combination with DNA extraction and sequencing of antimicrobial resistant genes from environmental and fecal samples. Data on ecotourist distribution gleaned from the camera traps is combined with metagenomic sequencing data from the soil and fecal samples to explore the relationship between ecotourist activity and the abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes in soil and feces. This study examines the impacts of ecotourism-mediated antimicrobial resistance transmission at a level. The study unveils how a more cryptic mechanism of anthropogenic disturbance may be impacting non-human primate populations and undermining the utility of ecotourism as a critical conservation tool. 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.