Researchers from Canada and France spent two years collecting samples in the clouds at the top of an extinct volcano.
Scientists conducted 12 cloud sampling sessionsduring two years. The material was collected at a remote weather station located on the top of the volcano at an altitude of 1,465 m. Results analyzes showed that 1 mm of water in clouds contains about 8 thousand bacteria and an average of 20,800 copies of resistant genes - this is comparable to the concentration in soil and water on the surface of the planet.
The researchers also noted that themicroorganisms differed in clouds that arrived from the ocean and those that moved predominantly over land. The latter had more bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics used to treat and prevent infections in livestock.
This is the first study showing that cloudscontain antibiotic resistance genes at concentrations comparable to other natural environments. These bacteria usually live on the surface of vegetation or soil. They are dispersed by wind or human activities, and some of them rise into the atmosphere and participate in the formation of clouds.
Florent Rossi, study co-author at Laval University
Scientists believe that a high concentration of genesantibiotic resistance in the clouds is mainly associated with animal husbandry. Further tracking the sources of resistant bacteria and how they spread will help "correct mistakes" and prevent the development of superbugs.
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