Asma Aleem

Bio: Asma Aleem is an academic researcher from Aligarh Muslim University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Soil water & Genotoxicity. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 7 publications receiving 520 citations.

Incidence of metal and antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas spp. from the river water, agricultural soil irrigated with wastewater and groundwater

Abstract: A total of 144 isolates of Pseudomonas spp. (48 each from the Yamuna River water, wastewater irrigated soil and groundwater irrigated soil) were tested for their resistance against certain heavy metals and antibiotics. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Hg2 + , Cd2 + , Cu2 + , Zn2 + , Ni2 + , Pb2 + , Cr3 + and Cr6 + for each isolate were also determined. A maximum MIC of 200 μg/ml for mercury and 3,200 μg/ml for other metals were observed. The incidences of metal resistance and MICs of metals for Pseudomonas isolates from the Yamuna water and wastewater irrigated soil were significantly different to those of groundwater irrigated soil. A high level of resistance against tetracycline and polymyxin B (81.2%) was observed in river water isolates. However, 87.5% of Pseudomonas isolates from soil irrigated with wastewater showed resistance to sulphadiazine, whereas 79.1% were resistant to both ampicillin and erythromycin. Isolates from soil irrigated with groundwater exhibited less resistance towards heavy metals and antibiotics as compared to those of river water and wastewater irrigated soil. Majority of the Pseudomonas isolates from water and soil exhibited resistance to multiple metals and antibiotics. Resistance was transferable to recipient Escherichia coli AB2200 strains by conjugation. Plasmids were cured with the curing agent ethidium bromide and acridine orange at sub-MIC concentration.

Genotoxic hazards of long-term application of wastewater on agricultural soil.

Abstract: In the city of Aligarh (India), wastewater coming from both industrial and domestic sources and without any treatment is used to irrigate the agricultural crops. This practice has been polluting the soil, and the pollutants could possibly reach the food chain. For the above reason, soil irrigated with wastewater was sampled and monitored for the presence of genotoxic agents using three biological assays namely Ames Salmonella/mammalian microsome test, survival of SOS defective E. coli K-12 mutants and bacteriophage lambda systems. Extracts from soils were prepared using different organic solvents, i.e. methanol, acetonitrile and acetone. TA98 was found to be most sensitive strain to all the soil extracts. A significant decline in the survival of DNA repair defective E. coli K-12 mutants as compared to their isogenic wild-type counterparts were observed when treated with soil extracts. PolA was found to be the most sensitive strain. A remarkable decline in the plaque forming units was also observed when tested with the soil extracts. Extracts of soil that has been irrigated with ground water were also tested by the above three biological assays to compare the results.

Heavy metal driven co-selection of antibiotic resistance in soil and water bodies impacted by agriculture and aquaculture.

Abstract: The use of antibiotic agents as growth promoters was banned in animal husbandry to prevent the selection and spread of antibiotic resistance. However, in addition to antibiotic agents, heavy metals used in animal farming and aquaculture might promote the spread of antibiotic resistance via co-selection. To investigate which heavy metals are likely to co-select for antibiotic resistance in soil and water, the available data on heavy metal pollution, heavy metal toxicity, heavy metal tolerance, and co-selection mechanisms was reviewed. Additionally, the risk of metal driven co-selection of antibiotic resistance in the environment was assessed based on heavy metal concentrations that potentially induce this co-selection process. Analyses of the data indicate that agricultural and aquacultural practices represent major sources of soil and water contamination with moderately to highly toxic metals such as mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). If those metals reach the environment and accumulate to critical concentrations they can trigger co-selection of antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, co-selection mechanisms for these heavy metals and clinically as well as veterinary relevant antibiotics have been described. Therefore, studies investigating co-selection in environments impacted by agriculture and aquaculture should focus on Hg, Cd, Cu, and Zn as selecting heavy metals. Nevertheless, the respective environmental background has to be taken into account.

Mutagens in surface waters: a review

Abstract: A review of the literature on the mutagenicity/genotoxicity of surface waters is presented in this article. Subheadings of this article include a description of sample concentration methods, mutagenic/genotoxic bioassay data, and suspected or identified mutagens in surface waters published in the literature since 1990. Much of the published surface water mutagenicity/genotoxicity studies employed the Salmonella/mutagenicity test with strains TA98 and/or TA100 with and/or without metabolic activation. Among all data analyzed, the percentage of positive samples toward TA98 was approximately 15%, both in the absence and the presence of S9 mix. Those positive toward TA100 were 7%, both with and without S9 mix. The percentage classified as highly mutagenic (2500-5000 revertants per liter) or extremely mutagenic (more than 5000 revertants per liter) was approximately 3-5% both towards TA98 and TA100, regardless of the absence or the presence of S9 mix. This analysis demonstrates that some rivers in the world, especially in Europe, Asia and South America, are contaminated with potent direct-acting and indirect-acting frameshift-type and base substitution-type mutagens. These rivers are reported to be contaminated by either partially treated or untreated discharges from chemical industries, petrochemical industries, oil refineries, oil spills, rolling steel mills, untreated domestic sludges and pesticides runoff. Aquatic organisms such as teleosts and bivalves have also been used as sentinels to monitor contamination of surface water with genotoxic chemicals. DNA modifications were analyzed for this purpose. Many studies indicate that the 32P-postlabeling assay, the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay and the micronucleus test are sensitive enough to monitor genotoxic responses of indigenous aquatic organisms to environmental pollution. In order to efficiently assess the presence of mutagens in the water, in addition to the chemical analysis, mutagenicity/genotoxicity assays should be included as additional parameters in water quality monitoring programs. This is because according to this review they proved to be sensitive and reliable tools in the detection of mutagenic activity in aquatic environment. Many attempts to identify the chemicals responsible for the mutagenicity/genotoxicity of surface waters have been reported. Among these reports, researchers identified heavy metals, PAHs, heterocyclic amines, pesticides and so on. By combining the blue cotton hanging method as an adsorbent and the O-acetyltransferase-overproducing strain as a sensitive strain for aminoarenes, Japanese researchers identified two new type of potent frameshift-type mutagens, formed unintentionally, in several surface waters. One group has a 2-phenylbenzotriazole (PBTA) structure, and seven analogues, PBTA-type mutagens, were identified in surface waters collected at sites below textile dyeing factories and municipal wastewater treatment plants treating domestic wastes and effluents. The other one has a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) skelton with nitro and amino substitution group and it was revealed to be 4-amino-3,3'-dichloro-5,4'-dinitrobiphenyl derived from chemical plants treating polymers and dye intermediates. However, the identification of major putative mutagenic/genotoxic compounds in most surface waters with high mutagenic/genotoxic activity in the world have not been performed. Further efforts on chemical isolation and identification by bioassay-directed chemical analysis should be performed.

Role of soil rhizobacteria in phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils.

Abstract: Heavy metal pollution of soil is a significant environmental problem and has its negative impact on human health and agriculture. Rhizosphere, as an important interface of soil and plant, plays a significant role in phytoremediation of contaminated soil by heavy metals, in which, microbial populations are known to affect heavy metal mobility and availability to the plant through release of chelating agents, acidification, phosphate solubilization and redox changes, and therefore, have potential to enhance phytoremediation processes. Phytoremediation strategies with appropriate heavy metal-adapted rhizobacteria have received more and more attention. This article paper reviews some recent advances in effect and significance of rhizobacteria in phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils. There is also a need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the transfer and mobilization of heavy metals by rhizobacteria and to conduct research on the selection of microbial isolates from rhizosphere of plants growing on heavy metal contaminated soils for specific restoration programmes.