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. 2021 Jul 23:12:703886.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.703886. eCollection 2021.

The Role of Gulls as Reservoirs of Antibiotic Resistance in Aquatic Environments: A Scoping Review

Danae Zeballos-Gross  1 , Zulma Rojas-Sereno  1   2 , Marília Salgado-Caxito  3   4   5 , Patricia Poeta  6   7   8 , Carmen Torres  9 , Julio A Benavides  1   2   3
Affiliations

The Role of Gulls as Reservoirs of Antibiotic Resistance in Aquatic Environments: A Scoping Review

Danae Zeballos-Gross et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

The role of wildlife with long-range dispersal such as gulls in the global dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across natural and anthropogenic aquatic environments remains poorly understood. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been detected in resident and migratory gulls worldwide for more than a decade, suggesting gulls as either sentinels of AMR pollution from anthropogenic sources or independent reservoirs that could maintain and disperse AMR across aquatic environments. However, confirming either of these roles remains challenging and incomplete. In this review, we present current knowledge on the geographic regions where AMR has been detected in gulls, the molecular characterization of resistance genes, and the evidence supporting the capacity of gulls to disperse AMR across regions or countries. We identify several limitations of current research to assess the role of gulls in the spread of AMR including most studies not identifying the source of AMR, few studies comparing bacteria isolated in gulls with other wild or domestic species, and almost no study performing longitudinal sampling over a large period of time to assess the maintenance and dispersion of AMR by gulls within and across regions. We suggest future research required to confirm the role of gulls in the global dispersion of AMR including the standardization of sampling protocols, longitudinal sampling using advanced satellite tracking, and whole-genome sequencing typing. Finally, we discuss the public health implications of the spread of AMR by gulls and potential solutions to limit its spread in aquatic environments.

Keywords: AMR; ESBL; One Health; antimicrobial resistance; bacteria; marine birds; seagulls; wildlife.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Article search flow diagram.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Geographical locations of the AMR studies found in gulls. (A) Number of publications per continents. (B) Number of publications per continent over the 1980–2020 period. (C) Number of publications of AMR in gulls per country in gradient.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Number of publications per gull and bacteria species. (A) Number of publications per gull species. (B) Number of publications per gull species over the 1980–2020 period. (C) Number of publications per bacteria species.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Antibiotic resistance and molecular method used. (A) Number of publications by family of antibiotic. (B) Number of publications by typing method.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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