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Abstract
Aquaculture farmers commonly add tetracycline to fish feed or to their ponds to prevent or treat bacterial infections in their crops. To assess the short-term effect of tetracycline (TET) and of one of its reversible epimers, 4-epitetracycline (ETC), on the function and structure of a sediment microbial community from a tropical tilapia farm, we contrasted community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) and phospholipid fatty acid profiles (PLFA) obtained from microcosms exposed for 12 days to 5, 10, 50, or 75 mg kg−1of these antibiotics. Notwithstanding that the concentration of the antibiotics during the experiment decreased between 13–100% (TET) or 16–61% (ETC), both compounds provoked opposing metabolic responses that did not revert. TET displayed a tendency to inhibit respiration at concentrations < 50 mg kg−1, whereas ETC showed the opposite effect. As revealed by the finding of the fatty acids 11:0 iso 3OH, 16:1w6c, and 18:1w6c, the sediment analyzed was predominantly colonized by Gram-negative bacteria. A marked decrease in fatty acid diversity accompanied the aforementioned metabolic responses, with TET concentrations > 50 mg kg−1leading to an enrichment of yeast and fungal biomarkers and both antibiotics at concentrations < 10 mg kg−1selecting for microorganisms with 11:0 iso 3OH. In agreement with CLPP data, differences between the PLFA profiles of control and treated microcosms were more pronounced for TET than for ETC. We conclude that high, yet field-relevant, concentrations of TET and ETC have the potential to modify the composition, and to a lesser extent, the functioning of a sediment microbial community. This study highlights the importance of considering antibiotic degradation products in ecotoxicological research.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the tilapia farm that facilitated the sediment and to the National Rector's Council (CONARE) for financial support.