Citrobacter portucalensis Sb-2 contains a metalloid resistance determinant transmitted by Citrobacter phage Chris1

Yanshuang Yu; Zhenchen Xie; Jigang Yang; Ruixiang Yang; Yuanping Li; Yongguan Zhu; Yanlin Zhao; Qiue Yang; Jichen Chen; Hend A Alwathnani; Renwei Feng; Christopher Rensing; Martin Herzberg

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130184

Citrobacter portucalensis Sb-2 contains a metalloid resistance determinant transmitted by Citrobacter phage Chris1

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Feb 5;443(Pt A):130184. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130184. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China.
³ College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
⁴ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
⁵ Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
⁶ Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China. Electronic address: frwzym@aliyun.com.
⁸ Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China. Electronic address: rensing@iue.ac.cn.
⁹ Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Biology/Microbiology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3, 06120 Halle(Saale), Germany.

PMID: 36270189
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130184

Abstract

Bacterial adaptation to extreme environments is often mediated by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) via genetic mobile elements. Nevertheless, phage-mediated HGT conferring bacterial arsenic resistance determinants has rarely been investigated. In this study, a highly arsenite and antimonite resistant bacterium, Citrobacter portucalensis strain Sb-2, was isolated, and genome analysis showed that several putative arsenite and antimonite resistance determinants were flanked or embedded in prophages. Furthermore, an active bacteriophage carrying one of the ars clusters (arsRDABC arsR-yraQ/arsP) was obtained and sequenced. These genes encoding putative arsenic resistance determinants were induced by arsenic and antimony as demonstrated by RT-qPCR, and one gene arsP/yraQ of the ars cluster was shown to give resistance to MAs(III) and Rox(III), thereby showing function. Here, we were able to directly show that these phage-mediated arsenic and antimony resistances play a significant role in adapting to As- and Sb-contaminated environments. In addition, we demonstrate that this phage is responsible for conferring arsenic and antimony resistances to C. portucalensis strain Sb-2.

Keywords: Antimonite; Arsenite; Citrobacter; HGT; Phage.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Antimony / toxicity
Arsenic*
Arsenites*
Bacteriophages* / genetics
Citrobacter / genetics
Metalloids*

Substances

antimonite
Antimony
Arsenites
Arsenic
Metalloids

Supplementary concepts

Citrobacter portucalensis