Examines effects of the environmental distribution of
antimicrobial resistance genes on human health and the
ecosystem

Resistance genes are everywhere in nature--in pathogens,
commensals, and environmental microorganisms. This contributed work
shows how the environment plays a pivotal role in the development
of antimicrobial resistance traits in bacteria and the distribution
of resistant microbial species, resistant genetic material, and
antibiotic compounds. Readers will discover the impact of the
distribution in the environment of antimicrobial resistance genes
and antibiotics on both the ecosystem and human and animal
health.

Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment is divided into four
parts:

* Part I, Sources, including ecological and clinical consequences
of antibiotic resistance by environmental microbes

* Part II, Fate, including strategies to assess and minimize the
biological risk of antibiotic resistance in the environment

* Part III, Antimicrobial Substances and Resistance, including
antibiotics in the aquatic environment

* Part IV, Effects and Risks, including the effect of
antimicrobials used for non-human purposes on human health

Recognizing the intricate links among overlapping complex
systems, this book examines antimicrobial resistance using a
comprehensive ecosystem approach. Moreover, the book's
multidisciplinary framework applies principles of microbiology,
environmental toxicology, and chemistry to assess the human and
ecological risks associated with exposure to antibiotics or
antibiotic resistance genes that are environmental
contaminants.

Each chapter has been written by one or more leading researchers
in such fields as microbiology, environmental science, ecology, and
toxicology. Comprehensive reference lists at the end of all
chapters serve as a gateway to the primary research in the
field.

Presenting and analyzing the latest findings in a field of
growing importance to human and environmental health, this text
offers readers new insights into the role of the environment in
antimicrobial resistance development, the dissemination of
antimicrobial resistant genetic elements, and the transport of
antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics.

Mark H.M.M. Montforts, Ph.D. is a Senior Policy Officer and Project Leader with The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in The Netherlands. He is also a member of many other organizations such as the Dutch Biocides Expertise Network, the Working Group on Ecotoxicology of the EU Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Asthma Foundation.

Examines effects of the environmental distribution of antimicrobial resistance genes on human health and the ecosystem

Resistance genes are everywhere in naturein pathogens, commensals, and environmental microorganisms. This contributed work shows how the environment plays a pivotal role in the development of antimicrobial resistance traits in bacteria and the distribution of resistant microbial species, resistant genetic material, and antibiotic compounds. Readers will discover the impact of the distribution in the environment of antimicrobial resistance genes and antibiotics on both the ecosystem and human and animal health.

Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment is divided into four parts:

• Part I, Sources, including ecological and clinical consequences of antibiotic resistance by environmental microbes

• Part II, Fate, including strategies to assess and minimize the biological risk of antibiotic resistance in the environment

• Part III, Antimicrobial Substances and Resistance, including antibiotics in the aquatic environment

• Part IV, Effects and Risks, including the effect of antimicrobials used for non-human purposes on human health

Recognizing the intricate links among overlapping complex systems, this book examines antimicrobial resistance using a comprehensive ecosystem approach. Moreover, the book's multidisciplinary framework applies principles of microbiology, environmental toxicology, and chemistry to assess the human and ecological risks associated with exposure to antibiotics or antibiotic resistance genes that are environmental contaminants.

Each chapter has been written by one or more leading researchers in such fields as microbiology, environmental science, ecology, and toxicology. Comprehensive reference lists at the end of all chapters serve as a gateway to the primary research in the field.

Presenting and analyzing the latest findings in a field of growing importance to human and environmental health, this text offers readers new insights into the role of the environment in antimicrobial resistance development, the dissemination of antimicrobial resistant genetic elements, and the transport of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics.

CONTRIBUTORS xv

PART I SOURCES 1

Chapter 1 Introduction 3
Stuart B. Levy

Chapter 2 Path to Resistance 7
Vivian Miao, Dorothy Davies, and Julian Davies

Chapter 3 Antibiotic Resistome: A Framework Linking the Clinic and the Environment 15
Gerard D. Wright

Chapter 4 Ecological and Clinical Consequences of Antibiotic Subsistence by Environmental Microbes 29
Gautam Dantas and Morten O. A. Sommer

Chapter 5 Importance of Adaptive and Stepwise Changes in the Rise and Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance 43
Lucia Fernandez, Elena B. M. Breidenstein, and Robert E. W. Hancock

Chapter 6 Environmental Reservoirs of Resistance Genes in Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria and Their Possible Impact on the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance 73
Paris Laskaris, William H. Gaze and Elizabeth M. H. Wellington

Chapter 7 Mechanisms of Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance and Lessons Learned from Environmental Tetracycline-Resistant Bacteria 93
Marilyn C. Roberts

Chapter 8 Environmental Antibiotic Resistome: New Insights from Culture-Independent Approaches 123
Isabel S. Henriques, Artur Alves, Maria Jose´ Saavedra, Mark H. M. M. Montforts, and Anto´nio Correia

PART II FATE 149

Chapter 9 Environmental Pollution by Antibiotic Resistance Genes 151
Jose Luis Martinez and Jorge Olivares

Chapter 10 Quantifying Anthropogenic Impacts on Environmental Reservoirs of Antibiotic Resistance 173
Amy Pruden and Mazdak Arabi

Chapter 11 Antibiotic Resistance in Swine-Manure-Impacted Environments 203
Joanne Chee-Sanford, Scott Maxwell, Kristy Tsau, Kelly Merrick, and Rustam Aminov

Chapter 12 Antimicrobial-Resistant Indicator Bacteria in Manure and the Tracking of Indicator Resistance Genes 225
Christina S. Ho¨lzel and Karin Schwaiger

Chapter 13 Municipal Wastewater as a Reservoir of Antibiotic Resistance 241
Timothy Lapara and Tucker Burch

Chapter 14 Strategies to Assess and Minimize the Biological Risk of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment 251
Thomas Schwartz

Chapter 15 Antibiotic Resistance in AnimalsThe Australian Perspective 265
Olasumbo Ndi and Mary Barton

PART III ANTIMICROBIAL SUBSTANCES AND RESISTANCE 291

Chapter 16 Detection and Occurrence of Antibiotics and Their Metabolites in Pig Manure in Bavaria (Germany) 293
Katrin Harms and…