Multidrug-resistant high-risk clonal Escherichia coli lineages occur along an antibiotic residue gradient in the Baltic Sea

Multidrug-resistant high-risk clonal Escherichia coli lineages occur along an antibiotic residue gradient in the Baltic Sea | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Multidrug-resistant high-risk clonal Escherichia coli lineages occur along an antibiotic residue gradient in the Baltic Sea Katharina Schaufler, Phillip Lübcke, Stefan Heiden, Timo Homeier-Bachmann, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4431721/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in npj Clean Water → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The global spread of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli threatens human, animal, and environmental health. Despite the recognition of water bodies as potential reservoirs, research on AMR in the Baltic Sea is limited. In this study, we examined the presence of ESBL-producing E. coli in surface water in northeastern Germany. We then conducted phenotypic and genotypic analyses of the strains, which encompassed AMR and heavy metal/metalloid tolerance, biofilm formation, and detailed plasmid examination. In addition, we used solid-phase extraction with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to quantify antibiotic residues. Our analysis identified 30 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates, some of which were associated with clinically relevant high-risk clonal lineages. We detected antibiotic residues in the environmental samples, but the antibiotic concentrations were significantly lower compared to the wastewater samples. These results highlight the Baltic Sea surface water as a potential reservoir for ESBL-producing E. coli and clinically relevant antibiotics. high-risk clones in water cefiderocol resistance heavy metal tolerance One Health Full Text Additional Declarations (Not answered) Supplementary Files SupplementFiguresLXXbckeetal.pdf SupplementTablesLXXbckeetal.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in npj Clean Water → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: revise 17 Jul, 2024 Review # 2 received at journal 16 Jul, 2024 Review # 1 received at journal 19 Jun, 2024 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 14 Jun, 2024 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 09 Jun, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 24 May, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 17 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 16 May, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 16 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4431721","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":306254380,"identity":"f3ec55eb-2647-4229-9bc4-b83cbbee741c","order_by":0,"name":"Katharina 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