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Title: CrossDiv Symposium--Development and Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment
Lead Community Sponsor:
Cosponsor: SSSA Division: Soil Biology and Biochemistry, SSSA Division: Soil Chemistry, SSSA Division: Soils and Environmental Quality
Community Cosponsor:
Format: Oral Symposium
Keywords: Development of antibiotic resistance, Dissemination of antibiotic resistance, Models and Multi-disciplinary
Session Description: As the global health crisis caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria has continued to worsen, there have been innumerable studies detailing the scope of the problem, but relatively few studies that have effectively examined the specific causes for the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment from a truly mechanistic standpoint. How, when, and where antibiotic resistance develops and spreads in the environment is still only understood in a very generalized nature. This is exacerbated by a tendency for many microbiological studies to overemphasize biological explanations for natural phenomena at the expense of physical and chemical explanations and vice-versa in many modeling and soil physics and chemistry studies. While few would disagree that truly interdisciplinary work is needed to solve the antibiotic resistance problem, the prerequisite relationships among biological, chemical, and physical scientists are often lacking. This symposium will bring together scientists from the biological, chemical, and physical sciences to examine the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Of particular interests are the biological, physical, and chemical variables that regulate the spread of antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer, the fate and transport of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, and what management practices can be utilized to control changes in antibiotic resistance in the environment. The goal of this session it to stimulate collaborative interactions between biological and physical scientists to better address our current gaps in knowledge and lead to practical solutions for this serious health issue.