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Lloyd, Nicole A. & Janssen, Sarah E. & Reinfelder, John R. & Barkay, Tamar (2016). Co-selection of Mercury and Multiple Antibiotic Resistances in Bacteria Exposed to Mercury in the Fundulus heteroclitus Gut Microbiome. Current Microbiology, 73(6), 834-842. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3QV3PRH

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Co-selection of Mercury and Multiple Antibiotic Resistances in Bacteria Exposed to Mercury in the Fundulus heteroclitus Gut Microbiome (2016)
Nicole A. Lloyd, Sarah E. Janssen, John R. Reinfelder, Tamar Barkay
Current Microbiology 73(6): 834-842.
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AbstractThe emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria is currently one of the most serious challenges to human health. To combat this problem, it is critical to understand the processes and pathways that result in the creation of antibiotic resistance gene pools in the environment. In this study we examined the effects of mercury (Hg) exposure on the co-selection of Hg and antibiotic resistant bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract of the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), a small, estuarine fish. We examined this connection in two experimental systems: (i) a short-term laboratory exposure study where fish were fed Hg-laced food for 15 days and (ii) an examination of environmental populations from two sites with very different levels of Hg contamination. In the lab exposure study, fish muscle tissue accumulation of Hg was proportional to food Hg concentration (R2=0.99; p<0.0001). In the environmental study, fish from the contaminated site accumulated 3 fold more Hg compared to fish from the reference site (p<0.05). Further, abundance of the Hg resistance gene merA was more than 8 fold higher (p<0.0001) in DNA extracts of ingesta of fish from the contaminated site, suggesting adaptation to Hg. Finally, resistance to 3 or more antibiotics was more common in Hg resistant as compared to Hg sensitive bacterial colonies that were isolated from fish ingesta (p<0.001) demonstrating co-selection of Hg and antibiotic resistances. Together, our results highlight the possibility for the creation of antibiotic resistance gene pools as a result of exposure to Hg in contaminated environments.
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3QV3PRH
SubjectsCo-resistance, Mercury resistance, Antibiotic resistance, Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
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