Diversity of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli from Rivers in Palembang City, South Sumatra, Indonesia

One of the indicators of water pollution is the presence of coliform bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). The development of resistance properties to several antibiotics by this pathogen is a serious health problem. Therefore, this study aims to isolate and identify antibiotic-resistant E. coli using the 16S rRNA gene. Samples were taken along the Kedukan, PU, and Buah rivers in Palembang City, South Sumatra, Indonesia, using the purposive sampling method. Each river consists of 9 sampling points, namely, the lower, middle and the upstream regions. The water quality result for the three rivers show that several water quality parameters do not meet the water quality standards: namely, BOD levels in the Kedukan and Buah rivers, Fe levels in the Kedukan and PU rivers, and chlorine in the three rivers. The results showed that E. coli isolates from the Kedukan, PU and Buah rivers were sensitive to 9 antibiotics. The highest resistance (100%) of E. coli isolates to tobramycin was in the Kedukan and PU rivers, while those from the Buah river were resistant to ampicillin. The phylogenetic tree analysis showed genetic diversity. Two main groups were formed from E. coli, namely, A and B, which consist of 17 and 4 isolates, respectively. Furthermore, the water quality analysis results of the Kedukan, PU, and Buah rivers in Palembang City, South Sumatra, revealed that they are polluted.