scholarly journals Surface waters in northern Tanzania harbor fecal coliform and antibiotic resistant Salmonella spp. capable of horizontal gene transfer

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyimo Beatus ◽  
Buza Joram ◽  
Smith Woutrina ◽  
Subbiah Murugan ◽  
R Call Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Fecal Coliform ◽  
Salmonella Spp ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Northern Tanzania

scholarly journals Demonstration of Conjugative Transposon (Tn5397)-Mediated Horizontal Gene Transfer between Clostridium difficile and Enterococcus faecalis

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 4924-4926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azmiza S. Jasni ◽  
Peter Mullany ◽  
Haitham Hussain ◽  
Adam P. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Enterococcus Faecalis ◽  
Nosocomial Infections ◽  
Conjugative Transposon ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Specific Target ◽  
Ribotype 027 ◽  
Target Sites

ABSTRACT Antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Clostridium difficile are responsible for nosocomial infections in humans, in which they inhabit the same niche. Here, we demonstrate transfer of the conjugative transposon Tn5397 from C. difficile 630 to E. faecalis JH2-2, the first reported gene transfer between these two bacteria. Furthermore, transfer from the E. faecalis EF20A transconjugant to the epidemic ribotype 027 C. difficile strain R20291 was also demonstrated. Tn5397 was shown to use a single specific target site in E. faecalis; it also has specific target sites in C. difficile. These experiments highlight the importance of continual monitoring for emerging resistances in these bacteria.

scholarly journals Horizontal Gene Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance from Acinetobacter baylyi to Escherichia coli on Lettuce and Subsequent Antibiotic Resistance Transmission to the Gut Microbiome

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlène Maeusli ◽  
Bosul Lee ◽  
Sarah Miller ◽  
Zeferino Reyna ◽  
Peggy Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Acinetobacter Baylyi ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Link Type

ABSTRACT Agricultural use of antibiotics is recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a major contributor to antibiotic-resistant infections. While most One Health attention has been on the potential for antibiotic resistance transmission from livestock and contaminated meat products to people, plant foods are fundamental to the food chain for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. We hypothesized that environmental bacteria that colonize plant foods may serve as platforms for the persistence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and for horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes. Donor Acinetobacter baylyi and recipient Escherichia coli were cocultured in vitro, in planta on lettuce, and in vivo in BALB/c mice. We showed that nonpathogenic, environmental A. baylyi is capable of transferring plasmids conferring antibiotic resistance to E. coli clinical isolates on lettuce leaf discs. Furthermore, transformant E. coli from the in planta assay could then colonize the mouse gut microbiome. The target antibiotic resistance plasmid was identified in mouse feces up to 5 days postinfection. We specifically identified in vivo transfer of the plasmid to resident Klebsiella pneumoniae in the mouse gut. Our findings highlight the potential for environmental bacteria exposed to antibiotics to transmit resistance genes to mammalian pathogens during ingestion of leafy greens. IMPORTANCE Previous efforts have correlated antibiotic-fed livestock and meat products with respective antibiotic resistance genes, but virtually no research has been conducted on the transmission of antibiotic resistance from plant foods to the mammalian gut (C. S. Hölzel, J. L. Tetens, and K. Schwaiger, Pathog Dis 15:671–688, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2018.2501; C. M. Liu et al., mBio 9:e00470-19, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00470-18; B. Spellberg et al., NAM Perspectives, 2016, https://doi.org/10.31478/201606d; J. O’Neill, Antimicrobials in agriculture and the environment, 2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2019). Here, we sought to determine if horizontal transmission of antibiotic resistance genes can occur between lettuce and the mammalian gut microbiome, using a mouse model. Furthermore, we have created a new model to study horizontal gene transfer on lettuce leaves using an antibiotic-resistant transformant of A. baylyi (AbzeoR).

scholarly journals Horizontal gene transfer facilitates the spread of extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in soil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather A. Kittredge ◽  
Kevin M. Dougherty ◽  
Sarah E. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Natural Transformation ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

AbstractAntibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are ubiquitous in the environment and pose a serious risk to human and veterinary health. While many studies focus on the spread of live antibiotic resistant bacteria throughout the environment, it is unclear whether extracellular ARGs from dead cells can transfer to live bacteria to facilitate the evolution of antibiotic resistance in nature. Here, we inoculate antibiotic-free soil with extracellular ARGs (eARGs) from dead Pseudeononas stutzeri cells and track the evolution of antibiotic resistance via natural transformation – a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer involving the genomic integration of eARGs. We find that transformation facilitates the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance even when eARGs occur at low concentrations (0.25 μg g-1 soil). However, when eARGs are abundant, transformation increases substantially. The evolution of antibiotic resistance was high under soil moistures typical in terrestrial systems (5%-30% gravimetric water content) and was only inhibited at very high soil moistures (>30%). While eARGs transformed into live cells at a low frequency, exposure to a low dose of antibiotic allowed a small number of transformants to reach high abundances in laboratory populations, suggesting even rare transformation events pose a risk to human health. Overall, this work demonstrates that dead bacteria and their eARGs are an overlooked path to antibiotic resistance, and that disinfection alone is insufficient to stop the spread of antibiotic resistance. More generally, the spread of eARGs in antibiotic-free soil suggests that transformation allows genetic variants to establish at low frequencies in the absence of antibiotic selection.ImportanceOver the last decade, antibiotics in the environment have gained increasing attention because they can select for drug-resistant phenotypes that would have otherwise gone extinct. To counter this effect, bacterial populations exposed to antibiotics often undergo disinfection. However, the release of extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs) into the environment following disinfection can promote the transfer of eARGs through natural transformation. This phenomenon is well-documented in wastewater and drinking water, but yet to be investigated in soil. Our results directly demonstrate that eARGs from dead bacteria are an important, but often overlooked source of antibiotic resistance in soil. We conclude that disinfection alone is insufficient to prevent the spread of ARGs. Special caution should be taken in releasing antibiotics into the environment, even if there are no live antibiotic resistant bacteria in the community, as transformation allows DNA to maintain its biological activity past microbial death.

scholarly journals Computational Model to Quantify the Growth of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Wastewater

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Sutradhar ◽  
C. Ching ◽  
D. Desai ◽  
M. Suprenant ◽  
M. H. Zaman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Antibiotic Residues ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Resistant Population ◽  
Resistant Infection ◽  
Quantitative Understanding

AbstractThough wastewater and sewage systems are known to be a significant reservoir of antibiotic resistant bacterial populations and periodic outbreaks of drug resistant infection, there is little quantitative understanding of the drivers behind resistant population growth in these settings. In order to fill this gap in quantitative understanding of outbreaks of antibiotic resistant infections in wastewater, we have developed a mathematic model synthesizing many of the known drivers of antibiotic resistance in these settings in order to predict the growth of resistant populations in different environmental scenarios. A number of these drivers of drug resistant infection outbreak including antibiotic residue concentration, antibiotic interaction and synergy, chromosomal mutation and horizontal gene transfer, have not previously been integrated into a single computational model. Our integrated model shows that low levels of antibiotic residues present in wastewater can lead to the increased development of resistant populations, and the dominant mechanism of resistance acquisition in these populations is horizontal gene transfer rather than chromosomal mutations. Additionally, we found that synergistic antibiotic interactions can cause increased resistant population growth. Our study shows that the effects of antibiotic interaction are observable even at the low antibiotic concentrations present in wastewater settings. These findings, consistent with recent experimental and field studies, provide new quantitative knowledge on the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacterial reservoirs, and the model developed herein can be adapted for use as a prediction tool in public health policy making, particularly in low income settings where water sanitation issues remain widespread and disease outbreaks continue to undermine public health efforts.SignificanceThe rate at which antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has developed and spread throughout the world has increased in recent years, and it is suggested that at the current rate, several million people may die by 2050 due to AMR. One major reservoir of resistant bacterial populations that has been linked to outbreaks of drug resistant bacterial infections, but is not well understood, is in wastewater settings, where antibiotic pollution is often present. Using ordinary differential equations incorporating several known drivers of resistance in wastewater, we find that interactions between antibiotic residues and horizontal gene transfer significantly affect the growth of resistant bacterial reservoirs.

scholarly journals Horizontal Gene Transfer Is the Main Driver of Antimicrobial Resistance in Broiler Chicks Infected with Salmonella enterica Serovar Heidelberg

mSystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelumola Oladeinde ◽  
Zaid Abdo ◽  
Maximilian O. Press ◽  
Kimberly Cook ◽  
Nelson A. Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Broiler Chicks ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Food Animal ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Major Shift

The reported increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans has resulted in a major shift away from antibiotic use in food animal production. This shift has been driven by the assumption that removing antibiotics will select for antibiotic susceptible bacterial taxa, which in turn will allow the currently available antibiotic arsenal to be more effective.

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