Previous studies suggest that antibiotic resistance genes have an ancient origin, which is not always linked to the use of antibiotics but can be enhanced by human activities. Bacillus flexus strain T6186-2 was isolated from the formation water sample of a deep-subsurface oil reservoir. Interestingly, antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that this strain is susceptible to kanamycin, however, resistant to ampicillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, vancomycin, fosfomycin, fosmidomycin, tetracycline and teicoplanin. To explore our knowledge about the origins of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the relatively pristine environment, we sequenced the genome of B. flexus strain T6186-2 as a permanent draft. It represents the evidence for the existence of a reservoir of ARGs in nature among microbial populations from deep-subsurface oil reservoirs.
Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Bacillus flexus; Genome; Halotolerant; Oilfield.
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