Seawater from Bergen harbor is a reservoir of conjugative multidrug-resistance plasmids carrying genes for virulence

Nachiket P Marathe; Didrik H Grevskott; Francisco Salvà-Serra; Priyank S Nimje; Cecilie S Svanevik; Bjørn Tore Lunestad; Edward R B Moore

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114108

Seawater from Bergen harbor is a reservoir of conjugative multidrug-resistance plasmids carrying genes for virulence

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2023 Mar:248:114108. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114108. Epub 2023 Jan 27.

Authors

Nachiket P Marathe¹, Didrik H Grevskott², Francisco Salvà-Serra³, Priyank S Nimje², Cecilie S Svanevik², Bjørn Tore Lunestad², Edward R B Moore⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: nachiket.marathe@hi.no.
² Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Culture Collection University of Gothenburg (CCUG), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden; Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
⁴ Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Culture Collection University of Gothenburg (CCUG), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden.

PMID: 36709743
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114108

Abstract

Aquatic environments play important roles in the dissemination of clinically-relevant antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens. Limited knowledge exists about the prevalence of clinically-relevant acquired resistance genes in the marine environment, especially in Norway. The aim of the current study was to investigate the presence of and characterize self-transmissible resistance plasmids from Bergen harbor seawater, with exogenous-plasmid capture, using a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Escherichia coli strain as a recipient. We obtained transconjugants resistant against ampicillin and cefotaxime from four of the 13 samples processed. Nine transconjugants, selected on the basis of antibiotic sensitivity patterns, were sequenced, using Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION platforms. Ten different plasmids (ranging from 35 kb to 136 kb) belonging to incompatibility groups IncFII/IncFIB/Col156, IncFII, IncI1 and IncB/O/K/Z were detected among these transconjugants. Plasmid p1A1 (IncFII/IncFIB/Col156, 135.7 kb) carried resistance genes bla_TEM-1, dfrA17, sul1, sul2, tet(A), mph(A), aadA5, aph(3″)-Ib and aph(6)-Id, conferring resistance against six different classes of antibiotics. Plasmid p1A4 carried bla_CTX-M-55, lnu(F), aadA17 and aac(3)-IId. Cephalosporinase bla_CMY-2 was detected on plasmids captured from an area impacted by wastewater from a local marine aquarium. Along with ARGs, some plasmids also carried virulence factors, such as enterotoxins, adhesion factors and siderophores. Our study demonstrates the presence of clinically-important multidrug-resistance conjugative plasmids in seawater from Bergen harbor, which have the potential to be transferred to human microbiota. The results highlight the need for surveillance of antibiotic resistance in the environment, as suggested by the World Health Organization, especially in low prevalence settings like Norway.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Escherichia coli; Marine environment; Multidrug resistance; Oxford nanopore sequencing; Plasmid capture.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
Escherichia coli / genetics
Escherichia coli Infections* / epidemiology
Humans
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Plasmids / genetics
Virulence

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents