Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Faecal Sterols in Marine Sediments: An Evidence of Their Presence away from Point Sources–Kuwait’s Example

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Author,

 

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for submitting this research article on "Antimicrobial Resistance and Faecal Sterols in Marine Sediments: An Evidence of AMR away from point sources – Kuwait's Example". This article explores the impact of sewage pollution on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and faecal sterols in marine sediments along the Kuwait coast, which is a timely and significant area of research. Below are my specific comments and suggestions for revision:

 

1. The article provides a good overview of the importance of coastal areas as ecosystems and the potential threats posed by sewage pollution. However, it would be beneficial if the author could further elaborate on the global implications of AMR in marine environments and why the Kuwait case is particularly noteworthy.

 

2. The methodology section details the sampling and analysis processes, facilitating the reader's understanding of the study's implementation. However, the author made data analysis and discussion on Prevalence and Abundance of ARGs and Mechanism of Action and Microbial Hosts, and did not write these analysis methods in the method and why they chose to analyze the data with these methods. For example, Absolute Principal Component Scores/Multiple Linear Regression (APCS/MLR)(Jamhari et al., 2014), Unmix (Lewis et al., 2003), and Positive matrix factorization (PMF) (Cai et al., 2023), why not use these methods? You can read the following references carefully, and write a short paragraph about the advantages of your chosen analysis method after comparative research.

l  Concentration and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM10 of urban, industrial and semi-urban areas in Malaysia

l  Source apportionment of Phoenix PM2.5 aerosol with the Unmix receptor model

l  Distribution, risk assessment, and quantitative source apportionment of heavy metals in surface sediments from the shelf of the northern South China Sea

 

3.The results section clearly presents the study's data, including sterol levels and the distribution of AMR genes. It would be valuable if the author could further explore the correlation between high sterol levels and the abundance of AMR genes in the discussion section.

 

4. Tables and figures provide excellent visual aids for data presentation, but it is recommended to check their clarity and ensure that they have sufficient resolution for publication.

 

5. The discussion section provides an insightful analysis of the results and compares them with existing literature. It would be beneficial if the author could consider discussing the limitations of the study, such as sample size, the selectivity of geographical locations, and potential confounding factors.

 

6. The article mentions the potential use of sterol ratios as a screening tool for AMR assessment sites, which is an intriguing perspective. It would be interesting for the author to further discuss the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of this approach.

 Overall, this article provides valuable insights into the relationship between AMR and faecal sterols in marine sediments. I look forward to the author's feedback and revisions in response to the above suggestions to further enhance the quality of the article.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 The overall quality of writing in the article is good.

Author Response

We are thankful to the reviewer for the suggestions and recommendations which were considered in the revised manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This research article was well edited based on author's original research results. However there were some problems and editing errors, this research article should have to revise before the publication of one of research articles in international journal, "Sustainability".

Please refer followings.

[Major reversion]

1) Title

Please revise title using specific and simple terms in order to understand more easily.

AMR: Please use full terms in "Title"

2) Keywords

Please use only important terms at least five or more as "Keywords".

3) Objective(s), Line(L) 57-64

Authors need to consider that why is this research important in the view point of globalization not only a specific area or a nation?

Then authors need to revise their's objective(s) based on globalization viewpoint.

Please revise objective(s) using more sepcific sontents.

4) Results, Discussion

I think that the relationship between faccal contamination of sediments and E. coli in Kuwait's coastal waters was not verified completely due to lack of scientific proof.

Please revise "Results" and "Discussion" parts based on more adequate scientific proof.

5) Conclusions, L 309-319

I think that "conclusions" are too general contents looks like just summary of experiments or survey.

Please revise conclusions using more specific contents based on authors' research results.

Please add the applicability of this research in "Conclusions" part.

Namely, where and how can we apply based on the results of this research article?

[Minor reversion]

6) Figure captions

Fig.1, Fig.2, Fig.3, Fig.4, Fig.5

Please revise all captions of figures using specific and scientific contents.

7) Number(s) expression

18,713 (L 163)

16,401 (L 173) other all numbers

8) Table 2. Effectve numbers

Please use same effective numbers at least 3 or more.

Ex.) Effective numbers(EFNs) 3: 257, 0.000 etc.

       EFNs 4: 311.3, 0.9410 etc 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of english may be required.

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for the comments. The manuscript is revised considering the comments of the reviewers. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article "Antimicrobial Resistance and Faecal Sterols in Marine Sediments: An Evidence of AMR away from point sources –Kuwait's Example" provides valuable scientific information regarding public health concerns due to antimicrobial resistance and its link to the environment. However, the authors must address the following review comments-

All abbreviated terms must be described at the first instance they are mentioned, not later in the text.

The authors must establish a link between sewage, pharmaceuticals, and AMR in the introduction section. Otherwise, it remains unclear to the readers that what is/are the source(s) of pharmaceutical compounds in sewage effluent.

The authors must define sterol. First how it is metabolically produced in the human physiological system and how it ends up in the human excretory product.

Table 1: Please define emergency waste in the description

Table 1: Please mention what kind of power plant where they are mentioned

Figure 1: Please mention the source of the map.

How does the quantity or composition of sterols in human feces differ depending on the human diet? Is there any established data?

The authors should mention the statistical analysis performed in this study in the methods section.

Line 174-176: Please provide references for the studies that reported coprostanol/coprostanol + cholestsanol ratio to assess fecal contamination.

Line 278-279: As the authors mentioned a positive correlation between sterols and AMR, please provide appropriate statistical details.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor formatting is required.

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for his/her comments. The manuscript is revised.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This research article was well revised based on reviewer's comments.

I think that this research article may be suitable for the publication of one of researc articles in international journal, "Water".

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thanks for amending the article as per the review comments.