Transport of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance-carrying plasmids through porous media

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 363-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rysz ◽  
P.J.J. Alvarez

Microbial antibiotic resistance has emerged as not only a major medical problem but also as an environmental engineering challenge, with antibiotic resistance genetic elements as environmental pollutants. The transport characteristics of a tetracycline-resistant bacterium (B. cepacia) and plasmids carrying tetracycline-resistance genes were investigated using flow-through columns packed with porous media. Higher influent cell concentrations (1.1×108 CFU mL−1) resulted in higher breakthrough (C/C0=0.596±0.055) than a solution with lower cell concentration (2.0×106 CFU mL−1, C/C0=0.461±0.037). This decreased extent of filtration suggests fast initial cell deposition and strong subsequent blocking of binding sites, resulting in less-hindered microbial transport through the sandy medium. The addition of a bromide tracer (NaBr) prior to the plasmid solution resulted in DNA retardation and increased filtration in a zirconia-silica bead matrix. Apparently, Na+ binding to the beads decreased electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged DNA and zirconia-silica surface. In contrast, plasmid breakthrough preceded that of the tracer when the plasmids were added first, possibly due to size exclusion chromatography coupled with stronger electrostatic repulsion. This implies that efforts to characterize the dynamics of resistance vector propagation in aquifers should consider the effect of groundwater chemistry and the surface characteristics of the porous media on vector transport.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmin Neves Vieira Sabino ◽  
Mateus Ferreira Santana ◽  
Linda Boniface Oyama ◽  
Fernanda Godoy Santos ◽  
Ana Júlia Silva Moreira ◽  
...  

AbstractInfections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria represent a therapeutic challenge both in clinical settings and in livestock production, but the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes among the species of bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants is not well characterized. Here, we investigate the resistome of 435 ruminal microbial genomes in silico and confirm representative phenotypes in vitro. We find a high abundance of genes encoding tetracycline resistance and evidence that the tet(W) gene is under positive selective pressure. Our findings reveal that tet(W) is located in a novel integrative and conjugative element in several ruminal bacterial genomes. Analyses of rumen microbial metatranscriptomes confirm the expression of the most abundant antibiotic resistance genes. Our data provide insight into antibiotic resistange gene profiles of the main species of ruminal bacteria and reveal the potential role of mobile genetic elements in shaping the resistome of the rumen microbiome, with implications for human and animal health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1959
Author(s):  
Jong-Yun Choi ◽  
Seong-Ki Kim

The acquisition of Antibiotic-Resistance Genes (ARGs) by natural bacteria caused by antibiotic abuse is causing serious problems for human and animal welfare. Here, we evaluated the influence of three cladoceran species on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (ARB) and tetracycline-resistance gene (tet(A)) copies, and discussed the effect of these biological interactions on the distribution and diffusion of ARGs in freshwater ecosystems. Bacterial community and tet(A) abundances in water samples collected from wetlands were strongly influenced by cladoceran presence. The presence of Daphnia obtusa dramatically decreased ARB and tet(A) abundance compared to that with other cladoceran species (Chydorus sphaericus and Simocephalus vetulus). Interestingly, we found a high abundance of Flavobacteriales in the microbiomes of cladoceran species. Considering that Flavobacteriales species are potential carriers of the tet(A) gene, their adsorption and assimilation with cladocerans could significantly impact the reduction of tet(A) in water. Field surveys also showed that tet(A) abundance could be low if the dominance of D. obtusa in each wetland was high. This study highlighted the need for ecological interactions and a broad range of niches in the food web when discussing the fate of ARGs in freshwater ecosystems.


2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 616-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Brooks ◽  
S.L. Maxwell ◽  
C. Rensing ◽  
C.P. Gerba ◽  
I.L. Pepper

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and endotoxin in soil after land application of biosolids. Soil was collected over a 15 month period following land application of biosolids, and antibiotic resistance was ascertained using clinically relevant antibiotic concentrations. Ampicillin, cephalothin, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline resistance were all monitored separately for any changes throughout the 15 month period. Endotoxin soil concentrations were monitored using commercially available endotoxin analysis reagents. Overall, land application of biosolids did not increase the percentage of antibiotic-resistant culturable bacteria above background soil levels. Likewise, land application of biosolids did not significantly increase the concentration of endotoxin in soil. This study determined and established a baseline understanding of the overall effect that land application of biosolids had on the land-applied field with respect to antibiotic-resistant bacterial and endotoxin soil densities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 993-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
WIOLETA CHAJĘCKA-WIERZCHOWSKA ◽  
ANNA ZADERNOWSKA ◽  
BEATA NALEPA ◽  
MAGDA SIERPI´NSKA ◽  
ŁUCJA ŁANIEWSKA-TROKENHEIM

Ready-to-eat (RTE) food, which does not need thermal processing before consumption, could be a vehicle for the spread of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. As part of general microbiological safety checks, staphylococci are routinely enumerated in these kinds of foods. However, the presence of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci in RTE food is not routinely investigated, and data are only available from a small number of studies. The present study evaluated the pheno- and genotypical antimicrobial resistance profile of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from 858 RTE foods (cheeses, cured meats, sausages, smoked fishes, salads). Of 113 strains isolated, S. aureus was the most prevalent species, followed by S. xylosus, S. saprophyticus, and S. epidermidis. More than half (54.9%) of the isolates were resistant to at least one class of tested antibiotic; of these, 35.4% of the strains were classified as multidrug resistant. Most of the isolates were resistant to cefoxitin (49.6%), followed by clindamycin (39.3%), tigecycline (27.4%), quinupristin-dalfopristin (22.2%), rifampin (20.5%), tetracycline (17.9%), and erythromycin (8.5%). All methicillin-resistant staphylococci harbored the mecA gene. Among the isolates resistant to at least one antibiotic, 38 harbored tetracycline resistance determinant tet(M), 24 harbored tet(L), and 9 harbored tet(K). Of the isolates positive for tet(M) genes, 34.2% were positive for the Tn916-Tn1545–like integrase family gene. Our results indicated that retail RTE food could be considered an important route for the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria harboring multiple antibiotic resistance genes.


10.5219/1354 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 954-959
Author(s):  
Elena Zayko ◽  
Dagmara Bataeva ◽  
Yuliya Yushina ◽  
Anzhelika Makhova ◽  
Mariya Grudistova

Correct effective doses of antibiotics are important in the treatment of infectious diseases. The most frequently used methods for determination of the antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial pathogens are slow. The detection of multidrug-resistant bacteria currently relies on primary isolation followed by phenotypic detection of antibiotic resistance by measuring bacterial growth in the presence of the antibiotic being tested. The basic requirements for methods of detection of resistance to antibiotics include speed and accuracy. We studied the speed and accuracy of flow cytometry for the detection of tetracycline resistance in the Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus. Detection of cell viability and reliability of antibiotic resistance was carried out on the Guava EasyCyte flow cytometer (Merck Millipore, Germany) with SYBR Green and PI dyes. M. luteus was exposed to tetracycline (at 30, 90, 180 and 270 μg.mL-1) over 24 hours. Concentrations of live and dead cells were measured after 4 and 24 hours of incubation. The results revealed that the use of mixed dyes PI and SYBR Green allowed the division of cells into large subpopulations of live and dead cells and the DNA of destroyed cells. After 4 h exposure to tetracycline 30 μg.mL-1, the subpopulation of live cells decreased by 47% compared to the positive control. Tetracycline at 90 μg.mL-1 decreased the subpopulation of live cells by 59% compared to the positive control. A continued increase in concentration caused a shift in the population and an increase in dead cells, indicating damage to the cells of the microorganism. Incubation of M. luteus with 180 and 270 μg.mL-1 tetracycline decreased the subpopulation of live cells by 82% and 94%, respectively, in comparison with the positive control. After incubation with 30 μg of tetracycline over 24 h the number of living cells decreased by 70% in comparison with the positive control. Tetracycline treatment (90 μg.mL-1 for 24 h) killed 71% of cells. After exposure to 90 μg.mL-1 tetracycline 29% cells were viable. The viability of living cells was confirmed by a microbiological test.


2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathyleen Nogrado ◽  
Tatsuya Unno ◽  
Hor-Gil Hur ◽  
Ji-Hoon Lee

AbstractAntibiotic resistance in soil environment has eminently been compared and studied between agricultural and pristine soils, and the role of concentrated animal feeding operations has markedly been recognized as one of the major sources of antibiotic resistance. This study described the tetracycline resistance in small-scale farms in pursuit of presenting its possible role and contribution to the persistence of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Results of the study would render additional information on the occurrence of the ribosomal protection protein (RPP) tet genes among the isolated bacteria from the selected agricultural soils. Four tetracycline resistance and RPP genes were determined in two different agricultural soil settings. Both the culture and molecular method were used to determine and measure tetracycline resistance in soils from arable land and animal house. Results revealed a significantly higher number of culturable antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animal houses than arable lands which was suggestive of higher antibiotic resistance in areas where there was direct administration of the antibiotics. However, quantification of the gene copy numbers in the agricultural soils indicated a different result. Higher gene copy number of tetO was determined in one animal house (IAH-3), while the two other tet genes tetQ and tetW were found to be higher in arable lands. Of the total 110 bacterial isolates, tetW gene was frequently detected, while tetO gene was absent in any of the culturable bacterial isolates. Principal component analysis of occurrence and gene copy number of RPP tet genes tetO, tetQ, and tetW also revealed highest abundance of RPP tet genes in the manure and arable soils. Another important highlight of this study was the similarity of the RPP tet genes detected in the isolated bacteria from the agricultural soils to the identified RPP tet genes among pathogenic bacteria. Some of the tetracycline-resistant bacterial isolates were also multidrug resistant as it displayed resistance to tetracycline, erythromycin, and streptomycin using disk diffusion testing.


mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart B. Levy ◽  
Bonnie M. Marshall

ABSTRACT Like animals and people, insects can serve as both collectors and disseminators of antibiotic resistance genes, as exquisitely demonstrated by a recent study (B. Tian, N. H. Fadhil, J. E. Powell, W. K. Kwong, and N. A. Moran, mBio 3[6]:e00377-12, doi:10.1128/mBio.00377-12, 2012). Notably, the relatively confined ecosystem of the honeybee gut demonstrates a large propensity for harboring a diverse set of tetracycline resistance genes that reveal the environmental burden resulting from the long-time selective pressures of tetracycline use in the honeybee industry. As in humans and animals, these genes have become established in the native, nonpathogenic flora of the insect gut, adding credence to the concept that commensal floras provide large reservoirs of resistance genes that can readily move into pathogenic species. The homology of these tetracycline resistance determinants with those found in tetracycline-resistant bacteria associated with animals and humans strongly suggests a dissemination of similar or identical genes through shared ecosystems. The emergence of linked coresistances (ampicillin and tetracycline) following single-antibiotic therapy mirrors reports from other studies, namely, that long-term, single-agent therapy will result in resistance to multiple drugs. These results contrast with the marked absence of diverse, single- and multiple-drug resistance genes in wild and domestic bees that are not subjected to such selective pressures. Prospective studies that simultaneously track both resistance genes and antibiotic residues will go far in resolving some of the nagging questions that cloud our understanding of antibiotic resistance dissemination.


2019 ◽  
pp. 48-54
Author(s):  
Duy Binh Nguyen ◽  
Trung Tien Phan ◽  
Trong Hanh Hoang ◽  
Van Tuan Mai ◽  
Xuan Chuong Tran

Sepsis is a serious bacterial infection. The main treatment is using antibiotics. However, the rate of antibiotic resistance is very high and this resistance is related to the outcome of treatment. Objectives: To evaluate the situation of antibiotic resistance of some isolated bacteria in sepsis patients treated at Hue Central Hospital; to evaluate the relationship of antibiotic resistance to the treatment results in patients with sepsis. Subjects and methods: prospective study of 60 sepsis patients diagnosed according to the criteria of the 3rd International Consensus-Sepsis 3 and its susceptibility patterns from April 2017 to August 2018. Results and Conclusions: The current agents of sepsis are mainly S. suis, Burkhoderiae spp. and E. coli. E. coli is resistant to cephalosporins 3rd, 4th generation and quinolone group is over 75%; resistance to imipenem 11.1%; the ESBL rate is 60%. S. suis resistant to ampicilline 11.1%; no resistance has been recorded to ceftriaxone and vancomycine. Resistance of Burkholderiae spp. to cefepime and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid was 42.9% and 55.6%, resistant to imipenem and meropenem is 20%, resistance to ceftazidime was not recorded. The deaths were mostly dued to E. coli and K. pneumoniae. The mortality for patients infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria are higher than for sensitive groups. Key words: Sepsis, bacterial infection, antibiotics


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1620
Author(s):  
Victor Markus ◽  
Karina Golberg ◽  
Kerem Teralı ◽  
Nazmi Ozer ◽  
Esti Kramarsky-Winter ◽  
...  

Quorum sensing (QS), a sophisticated system of bacterial communication that depends on population density, is employed by many pathogenic bacteria to regulate virulence. In view of the current reality of antibiotic resistance, it is expected that interfering with QS can address bacterial pathogenicity without stimulating the incidence of resistance. Thus, harnessing QS inhibitors has been considered a promising approach to overriding bacterial infections and combating antibiotic resistance that has become a major threat to public healthcare around the globe. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most frequent multidrug-resistant bacteria that utilize QS to control virulence. Many natural compounds, including furanones, have demonstrated strong inhibitory effects on several pathogens via blocking or attenuating QS. While the natural furanones show no activity against P. aeruginosa, furanone C-30, a brominated derivative of natural furanone compounds, has been reported to be a potent inhibitor of the QS system of the notorious opportunistic pathogen. In the present study, we assess the molecular targets and mode of action of furanone C-30 on P. aeruginosa QS system. Our results suggest that furanone C-30 binds to LasR at the ligand-binding site but fails to establish interactions with the residues crucial for the protein’s productive conformational changes and folding, thus rendering the protein dysfunctional. We also show that furanone C-30 inhibits RhlR, independent of LasR, suggesting a complex mechanism for the agent beyond what is known to date.


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