TY - JOUR
T1 - Using the class 1 integron-integrase gene as a proxy for anthropogenic pollution
AU - Gillings, Michael R.
AU - Gaze, William H.
AU - Pruden, Amy
AU - Smalla, Kornelia
AU - Tiedje, James M.
AU - Zhu, Yong Guan
N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2015/6/23
Y1 - 2015/6/23
N2 - Around all human activity, there are zones of pollution with pesticides, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and the microorganisms associated with human waste streams and agriculture. This diversity of pollutants, whose concentration varies spatially and temporally, is a major challenge for monitoring. Here, we suggest that the relative abundance of the clinical class 1 integron-integrase gene, intI1, is a good proxy for pollution because: (1) intI1 is linked to genes conferring resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants and heavy metals; (2) it is found in a wide variety of pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria; (3) its abundance can change rapidly because its host cells can have rapid generation times and it can move between bacteria by horizontal gene transfer; and (4) a single DNA sequence variant of intI1 is now found on a wide diversity of xenogenetic elements, these being complex mosaic DNA elements fixed through the agency of human selection. Here we review the literature examining the relationship between anthropogenic impacts and the abundance of intI1, and outline an approach by which intI1 could serve as a proxy for anthropogenic pollution.
AB - Around all human activity, there are zones of pollution with pesticides, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and the microorganisms associated with human waste streams and agriculture. This diversity of pollutants, whose concentration varies spatially and temporally, is a major challenge for monitoring. Here, we suggest that the relative abundance of the clinical class 1 integron-integrase gene, intI1, is a good proxy for pollution because: (1) intI1 is linked to genes conferring resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants and heavy metals; (2) it is found in a wide variety of pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria; (3) its abundance can change rapidly because its host cells can have rapid generation times and it can move between bacteria by horizontal gene transfer; and (4) a single DNA sequence variant of intI1 is now found on a wide diversity of xenogenetic elements, these being complex mosaic DNA elements fixed through the agency of human selection. Here we review the literature examining the relationship between anthropogenic impacts and the abundance of intI1, and outline an approach by which intI1 could serve as a proxy for anthropogenic pollution.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84929656417&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/ismej.2014.226
DO - 10.1038/ismej.2014.226
M3 - Article
C2 - 25500508
AN - SCOPUS:84929656417
SN - 1751-7362
VL - 9
SP - 1269
EP - 1279
JO - ISME Journal
JF - ISME Journal
IS - 6
ER -