Resilience of recombinant antibiotic resistance gene-containing plasmids against common cell culture disposal methods

Antibiotics have saved an untold number of people and animals since penicillin's miraculous discovery in 1928. In the following half-century, progressive discoveries involving antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the microorganisms responsible, and their transferrable genetic material have yielded the tools necessary for genetic engineering, birthing the biotechnologies that continue to revolutionize healthcare. After half a century of antibiotic use in the biological sciences, we are, however, faced with an inconvenient question: what happens to residual antibiotics and ARG-containing recombinant DNA after experiments? According to sequencing, we demonstrate that neither severe bleach treatments nor autoclaving completely destroys plasmid-encoded ARGs in bacterial cultures. Furthermore, we show that various bacteria can be transformed using the isolated DNA, confirming that intact plasmids survived these common cell culture disposal methods. This work will catalyze future policy discussions, the development of antibiotic-free selection systems, and continued support for research into the underexplored anthropogenic sources of engineered DNA.