Drug-resistance transfer in Escherichia coli in New York Bight sediment

Sediment from the sewage sludge dump site area in the New York Bight contains bacteria resistant to antibiotics and heavy metals. The purpose of this study was to determine if antibiotic resistance could be transferred from donor to recipient Escherichia coli strains inoculated into glass vessels containing sediment and seawater obtained near the dump site. Temperature was maintained at 10°C, the mean winter temperature of benthic water at the dump site. Transconjugants (recipients which inherit donor genes for tetracycline resistance) were isolated from the seawater and sediment within one hour after inoculation and were found in all subsequent sediment samples for one month. Donor and recipient E. coli remained viable in the sediment for at least one month. Our results indicate that sewage sludge polluted sediment may serve as an environment conducive to conjugal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.