Journal
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.656250
Keywords
horizontal gene transfer; antimicrobial resistance; synthetic wastewater; soil extract agar; environmental conditions; AMR
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Funding
- Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs
- European Union Regional Development Fund
- Province of Fryslan
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment
- STOWA
- European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie [665874]
- Wetsus research theme Source Separated Sanitation
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The study found that plasmid transfer in the environment is influenced by environmental conditions, particularly limited by low nutrient conditions. Despite occurring at different temperatures and nutrient conditions, the three recipient Escherichia coli strains all underwent plasmid transfer, but with significant differences in transfer frequencies.
Plasmid-mediated dissemination of antibiotic resistance among fecal Enterobacteriaceae in natural ecosystems may contribute to the persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in anthropogenically impacted environments. Plasmid transfer frequencies measured under laboratory conditions might lead to overestimation of plasmid transfer potential in natural ecosystems. This study assessed differences in the conjugative transfer of an IncP-1 (pKJK5) plasmid to three natural Escherichia coli strains carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, by filter mating. Matings were performed under optimal laboratory conditions (rich LB medium and 37 degrees C) and environmentally relevant temperatures (25, 15 and 9 degrees C) or nutrient regimes mimicking environmental conditions and limitations (synthetic wastewater and soil extract). Under optimal nutrient conditions and temperature, two recipients yielded high transfer frequencies (5 x 10(-1)) while the conjugation frequency of the third strain was 1000-fold lower. Decreasing mating temperatures to psychrophilic ranges led to lower transfer frequencies, albeit all three strains conjugated under all the tested temperatures. Low nutritive media caused significant decreases in transconjugants (-3 logs for synthetic wastewater; -6 logs for soil extract), where only one of the strains was able to produce detectable transconjugants. Collectively, this study highlights that despite less-than-optimal conditions, fecal organisms may transfer plasmids in the environment, but the transfer of pKJK5 between microorganisms is limited mainly by low nutrient conditions.
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