WARI Fellow Dr. Selvakumar will present “Bacteriophage based Treatment Process for Suppressing Antibiotic Resistance Gene Spread in Beef Cattle Manure”.

The spread of manure-borne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) present in soil and
water is of great environmental concern. Bacteriophages are
viruses that are specific to certain bacteria. They may facilitate
in the spread of ARGs from host cells to recipient cells during
horizontal gene transfer, but may also kill ARB by lysing the
bacterial cell. The present study aims to shed light on these
two contracting effects of bacteriophage in beef cattle manure.
Two bacteriophages specific to E. coli were isolated from
manure and their host specificities were determined using spot
assay. The antibiotic resistance of the host E. coli cells and the
rate of infectivity of the bacteriophages on the E. coli host were
determined. The transfer of antibiotic genes through phages
from the E. coli host to antibiotic sensitive E. coli strains K12
and Top10 is being monitored in antibiotic laden agar plates. If
a bacteriophage is not involved in ARG transfer, then it will be
used for mitigation of ARB in beef cattle manure.

Dr. Selvakumar’s Mentors are Dr. Xu Li and Dr. Yusong Li,
Associate Professors in the Department of Civil Engineering.