Establishing a Protocol of DNA Extraction to Investigate the Presence of integron 1 in Air Samples

Human health is widely influenced by a variety of factors including microorganisms present in built environments, i.e. homes and other enclosed public spaces. Most importantly, the abundance of bacteria pointing to antibiotic resistance has been exponentially increasing. Known contributors to antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARGs) include wastewater treatment plants, animal husbandries, and hospitals (Yang et.al.,2013). Studies done by Ma 2017 and Zhu 2017 demonstrated a strong correlation between ARGs and int1 in natural and built environments. Due to this, we decided to develop and test a new methodology to collect and test air samples for ARGs. This new methodology was used to test the prevalence of int1 genes in the air at the Bard College Kline Cafeteria throughout the day, on two different days. Samples were collected at three different times of the day: morning, afternoon, and night. Cq scores qPCR results were quantified into copy numbers. We found a higher prevalence of 16S rRNA genes, but there was no significant difference between int1 and 16S rRNA genes (F=0.22, P=0.81; F=0.22, P=0.81) at different times of the day. Final results indicate the newly developed methodology has the potential to be used in future studies testing for ARGs in the air