Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (dPCR) Data from the Sediment-Bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response Strategy Pilot Study, Northeastern United States, 2015

Due to the recognized proliferation and spread of antibiotic resistance genes by anthropogenic use of antibiotics for human, agriculture and aquaculture purposes, antibiotic resistance genes have been defined as an emerging contaminant (Laxminarayan and others, 2013; Rodriguez-Rojas and others, 2013; Niu and others, 2016). The presence and spread of these genes in non-clinical and non-agricultural environments has created the need for background investigations to enhance our understanding of the magnitude and risks associated with this emerging field (Allen and others, 2010). The current global economic costs of antibiotic resistant microorganisms is about 5.8 trillion USD, which is approximately equivalent to the combined GDP of Germany and the United Kingdom (Taylor and others, 2014). In this study we screened soil and sediment samples for the presence of 15 antibiotic resistance gene targets and 5 species of Vibrio (a marker of marine inundation) to determine natural background concentrations. These data provide a foundation to address background prevalence of these genetic targets in the northeastern United States (U.S.) to address regional influences (sources of pollutants) and to contrast future influences due to sea-level rise and large scale storms.