RAPID: Impact of Back-to-Back Major Hurricanes on Antibiotic Resistance Gene Transfer to Autochthonous Bacteria in Estuarine and Coastal Water Systems

Hurricanes cause severe damages to infrastructure, polluting coastal water, and disrupting the environment and human health. This research studies flooding-caused pollution in west Florida coastal waters after two major hurricanes. The project will understand how land bacteria transfer antibiotic resistant genes to coastal bacteria during flooding.

The team will analyze water samples collected after the hurricanes using microbiological, chemical and molecular methods. The outcomes of this study will enhance our understanding of how marine pathogens, like vibrios, acquire toxic traits and pose threats to public health. The results will provide valuable data in guiding emergency responses in the face of future storms.

The recent back-to-back hurricanes in Florida, Helene and Milton, caused extensive flooding that released untreated wastewater carrying antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) from freshwater environments into coastal waters. The spread of ARGs into marine ecosystems poses a significant public health threat, as it can lead to the emergence of antibiotic resistant marine bacteria, including species such as Vibrio vulnificus, a pathogen associated with severe and sometimes fatal infections.

This project will investigate how storm-driven flooding facilitates the horizontal transfer of ARGs between freshwater and marine bacteria, contributing to the long-term persistence of ARGs in coastal ecosystems. Key objectives include identifying antibiotic resistant freshwater bacteria entering coastal waters, examining the horizontal transfer of ARGs within biofilms in coastal waters, and assessing the persistence of ARGs in marine bacteria over time.

Samples collected after the hurricanes will be analyzed using long-read metagenomics, single-colony sequencing, and microbial community analysis to track bacterial origins and resolve ARG profiles, as well as stable isotope analysis to differentiate freshwater and marine bacterial populations. This study will highlight how hurricanes amplify the risks of ARGs entering marine ecosystems and conferring antibiotic resistance to pathogens.

These pathogens can impact public health through seafood consumption, recreational exposure, or environmental contact. The findings will provide critical insights into mitigating the long-term effects of hurricanes on public health and coastal water quality, while informing strategies to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance in marine environments.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.