Antibiotic Resistance Mediated by Escherichia coli in Kuwait Marine Environment as Revealed through Genomic Analysis

Hanan A Al-Sarawi; Nazima Habibi; Saif Uddin; Awadhesh N Jha; Mohammed A Al-Sarawi; Brett P Lyons

doi:10.3390/antibiotics12091366

Antibiotic Resistance Mediated by Escherichia coli in Kuwait Marine Environment as Revealed through Genomic Analysis

Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 Aug 25;12(9):1366. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12091366.

Authors

Hanan A Al-Sarawi¹, Nazima Habibi², Saif Uddin², Awadhesh N Jha³, Mohammed A Al-Sarawi⁴, Brett P Lyons⁵

Affiliations

¹ Environment Public Authority, Fourth Ring Road, Shuwaikh Industrial 70050, Kuwait.
² Environment and Life Science Research Centre, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
³ School of Biological Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
⁴ Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Kuwait University, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait.
⁵ Research & Monitoring Coordination Nature Conservation Department, Neom 49625, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistance gene elements (ARGEs) such as antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs), integrons, and plasmids are key to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in marine environments. Kuwait's marine area is vulnerable to sewage contaminants introduced by numerous storm outlets and indiscriminate waste disposal near recreational beaches. Therefore, it has become a significant public health issue and warrants immediate investigation. Coliforms, especially Gram-negative Escherichia coli, have been regarded as significant indicators of recent fecal pollution and carriers of ARGEs. In this study, we applied a genome-based approach to identify ARGs' prevalence in E. coli isolated from mollusks and coastal water samples collected in a previous study. In addition, we investigated the plasmids and intl1 (class 1 integron) genes coupled with the ARGs, mediating their spread within the Kuwait marine area. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) identified genes resistant to the drug classes of beta-lactams (bla_CMY-150, bla_CMY-42, bla_CTX-M-15, bla_DHA-1, bla_MIR-1, bla_OKP-B-15, bla_OXA-1, bla_OXA-48, bla_TEM-1B, bla_TEM-35), trimethoprim (dfrA14, dfrA15, dfrA16, dfrA1, dfrA5, dfrA7), fluroquinolone (oqxA, oqxB, qnrB38, qnrB4, qnrS1), aminoglycoside (aadA2, ant(3'')-Ia, aph(3'')-Ib, aph(3')-Ia, aph(6)-Id), fosfomycin (fosA7, fosA_6, fosA, fosB1), sulfonamide (sul1, sul2, sul3), tetracycline (tet-A, tet-B), and macrolide (mph-A). The MFS-type drug efflux gene mdf-A is also quite common in E. coli isolates (80%). The plasmid ColRNAI was also found to be prevalent in E. coli. The integron gene intI1 and gene cassettes (GC) were reported to be in 36% and 33%, respectively, of total E. coli isolates. A positive and significant (p < 0.001) correlation was observed between phenotypic AMR-intl1 (r = 0.311) and phenotypic AMR-GC (r = 0.188). These findings are useful for the surveillance of horizontal gene transfer of AMR in the marine environments of Kuwait.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance genes; class 1 integrons; gene cassette; horizontal gene transfer; marine environment; plasmids.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.