Comparative Assessment of Microbe and AMR Dissemination in Wastewater Biosolids
Katherine Dick, Alexandra Jose
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Archana Anand
With rising concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its impact on environmental and public health, it is important to understand how wastewater treatment systems manage microbial contaminants. Although these systems aim to reduce pathogens and AMR related genes, biosolids, the solid byproduct of treatment, may still contain microbes that contribute to the spread of resistance. While resistant bacteria in influent wastewater are well documented, less is known about how effectively treatment removes these threats from biosolids. This project will analyze biosolid samples using metagenomic sequencing and bioinformatics to identify microbial communities and resistance genes. The focus will be on clinically relevant AMR genes such as those conferring resistance to tetracyclines (tet), vancomycin (van), macrolides (erm), aminoglycosides (aac), and beta lactams (bla). These findings will be compared with existing influent wastewater datasets to assess treatment performance. Special attention will be given to potential pathogens that may persist, including Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori, and Salmonella. A risk assessment framework will be used to evaluate the clinical relevance and potential for environmental spread of detected AMR genes. This research will help characterize the resistance profile of biosolids and provide insight into how well treatment processes limit AMR transmission into the environment.