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Incidence of plasmid-linked antibiotic-heavy metal resistant enterics in water-sediment from agricultural and harbor sites

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Abstract

This study assesses the impact of antibiotics used in clinical and veterinary practices, on the incidence of antibiotic- heavy metal resistant enterics in fresh water and sediment from agricultural and harbor sample sites. A total of 848 bacterial strains of the familyEnterobacteriaceae was isolated from agricultural and lake harbor samples and identified to genus level. These were examined for antibiotic-heavy metal resistance. A select smaller number of these isolates were also examined for the presence of plasmids and ability to transfer antibiotic resistance via conjugation or transformation. More than 85 % of the 848 isolates from all four sites were resistant to Ph, Zn, and Co while 5.6% to 16% were resistant to Te and 2.4% to 5.7% to Hg. The ranking of metal resistance according to frequency was the same as the frequency of metal occurrence in sediment samples. Of the total isolates tested, 87% were resistant to six or more antibiotics and 74% were also simultaneously resistant to Co, Zn, and Ph. Testing the resistance of the water isolates to antibiotics used solely in animal husbandry-veterinary medicine indicated that 55.6% of the agricultural isolates possessed resistance to these antibiotics while only 31.9% of the isolates from harbor water showed resistance to the same antibiotics. Of 41 ampicillin resistant isolates examined, 16 (39%)were capable of transferring antibiotic-heavy resistance markers via conjugation. From this same group, plasmid DNA preparations were made. Of these latter preparations, 67% transformed recipientE. coli cells while 58% possessed discernible, often multiple plasmids when examined by gel electrophoresis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Vermont, 05405, Burlington, VT, U.S.A.

    Judy A. Mietz & Robert E. Sjogren

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  1. Judy A. Mietz
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  2. Robert E. Sjogren
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Mietz, J.A., Sjogren, R.E. Incidence of plasmid-linked antibiotic-heavy metal resistant enterics in water-sediment from agricultural and harbor sites. Water Air Soil Pollut 20, 147–159 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279625

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279625

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