Sampling site and isolation of the strains

The water samples were taken in sept. 2016 from four lowland salted lakes belonging to Natura 2000 network. The sampling points have been represented by four lakes circumscribed to a plain area of approx. 6500 ha of water from Buzău and Brăila counties, namely: ROSCI0005 Balta Albă-Amara-Lacul Sărat Câineni-Jirlău, ROSPA0004 Balta Albă-Amara-Jirlău and the area of reservations 2.271-Balta Albă, 2.272-Balta Amara, 2.260-Lacul Jirlău (Fig. 3). The area is polluted in particular by the actions and activities of the residents such as: discharging into the lakes of the domestic residues, natural and artificial modifications of the water composition, changing the methods of cultivation of land from the traditional ones in intensive agriculture and the excessive use of fertilizers. The lakes on this site are populated with fish of different species (carp, flax, chickpea, saltpeter and slumber), which are fished and consumed, and can be carriers of ARGs. The strains were isolated from samples on a selective (EMB, McConkey) and differential culture media (blood agar) as described previously [8]. A total of 44 lowland salted lakes strains were recovered from the selective and differential culture media and identified using the MALDI-TOF-MS Bruker system: 9 from the Balta Albă lake, 11 from the Balta Amara lake, 13 from the Jirlău lake and 11 from the salty lake Câineni.

The geographic location of the investigated counties and the sampled four lakes from Buzău and Brăila counties (Map source: adapted after Google Maps)