环境微生物的抗生素抗性和抗性组

环境和医疗实践中广泛存在的细菌抗生素抗性已经成为食品安全和人类健康领域的主要威胁。近年来的研究表明,病原菌主要通过水平基因转移而不是基因突变获得抗性,大量的研究支持病原微生物抗生素抗性基因的环境来源。系统论述了环境微生物抗生素抗性起源、进化及病原菌抗性基因与环境抗生素抗性组相互之间的交叉传播和水平转移机制,介绍了近年来环境微生物抗生素抗性组生态和进化生物学研究的最新进展和方法学应用。     

细菌中基因组岛的转移与调控机制研究进展

基因水平转移可导致细菌不同种属间个体DNA的交换,从而使细菌对环境的适应性增强,是细菌进化的重要途径之一。基因组岛是基因水平转移的重要载体,可移动的基因组岛能够整合到宿主的染色体上,并在特定的条件下切除,进而通过转化、接合或转导等方式转移到新的宿主中。基因组岛具有多种生物学功能,如抗生素抗性、致病性、异源物质降解、重金属抗性等。基因组岛的转移造成可变基因在不同种属细菌间的广泛传播,例如毒力和耐药基因的传播导致了多重耐药细菌的产生,威胁人类健康。基因组岛由整合酶介导转移,同时在转移的过程受到多种不同转录因子的调控。本文对细菌中基因组岛的结构特点、转移和调控机制以及预测等方面进行了综述,并最终阐明基因组岛的转移及其调控机制是遏制基因组岛传播的重要策略。     

环境中抗生素抗性基因的水平传播扩散

抗生素抗性基因作为一类新型环境污染物,其在不同环境介质中的传播扩散可能比抗生素本身的环境危害更大,其中,水平基因转移是抗生素抗性基因传播的重要方式,是造成抗性基因环境污染日益严重的原因之一.本文系统阐述了抗生素抗性基因在环境中发生水平转移的主要分子传播元件及其影响因素,这对于正确揭示抗性基因的分子传播机制具有重要意义.结合多重抗药性的传播扩散机制,探讨了行之有效的遏制抗生素抗性基因传播扩散的方法和途径,并针对目前的污染现状,对今后有关抗生素抗性基因水平转移的研究重点进行了展望.     

生物炭对土壤中抗生素抗性基因的阻控潜力及机制研究进展

土壤中抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)污染是全世界面临的重大环境和健康挑战,开发有效技术以减少其负面影响对维护土壤和人类健康至关重要。生物炭具有高碳含量、大表面积、良好的吸附性能和经济优势,可能是一种非常合适的阻控材料。其对ARGs的阻控作用可能归因于以下3种机制: 1) 吸附某些污染物,如抗生素和重金属,减弱ARGs的共选择性压力;2) 通过改变土壤理化特性影响微生物种群结构,从而限制细菌之间ARGs的水平转移;3) 通过吸附或破坏质粒、转座子、整合子等水平转移载体,直接减弱基因水平转移能力。但生物炭对ARGs的阻控效果取决于生物炭的物料来源、热解工艺和添加水平等。此外,生物炭的老化可能会降低其阻控ARGs的效果。生物炭的内源性污染物,如多环芳烃和重金属,也可能导致环境中特定抗生素抗性细菌的富集或诱导水平基因转移。在后续研究中,应根据土壤环境选择合适的生物炭种类,并采取生物炭老化控制措施,以进一步提高生物炭对ARGs的阻控作用。     

重金属胁迫下的细菌适应性进化研究进展

细菌进化的本质是碱基突变、基因重排或水平基因转移,在适应性进化过程中,主要受生物和非生物因素的影响,其中重金属胁迫也是细菌适应性进化的主要因素之一.重金属胁迫促使细菌适应性地强化与金属输入和转化有关的代谢途径,而过量的金属则诱导金属积累和外排过程.在重金属胁迫下,基于重金属抗性(HMR)基因和酶蛋白的适应,细菌抗性机制...     

环境中污染物降解基因的水平转移(HGT)及其在生物修复中的作用

水平基因转移是不同于垂直基因转移的遗传物质的交流方式.在污染环境这一特异生态环境中,降解基因的水平转移有着独特的功能与作用.研究环境中污染物降解基因在微生物间的水平转移,更深入地了解微生物种群适应污染环境的机理,对于评价污染物的环境毒理、生物可降解性以及污染环境的可修复潜力具有重要参考价值.在污染物生物修复实践中,可以通过调控降解基因的水平转移,增强污染环境中微生物的降解能力,更有效地发挥生物修复作用.文章将对环境中细菌间基因交流的机制,污染物降解基因的水平转移对微生物适应污染环境的机理、水平基因转移对代谢途径的进化及其对污染物生物修复作用的影响等方面的研究进展做一综述.     

水环境中抗性基因去除技术研究进展

抗生素的滥用导致了环境中抗性基因的产生,抗性基因一旦形成便难以控制和消除。目前,抗性基因在水环境中普遍检出,传播扩散迅速,污染形势严重,对生态系统和人体健康构成了巨大威胁。本文综述了国内外关于去除水环境中抗性基因的技术进展,重点讨论了消毒技术(含紫外消毒和加氯消毒)、高级氧化技术(包括Fenton氧化、光催化氧化和臭氧氧化)和人工湿地技术对水中抗性基因的去除效果,指出了各技术的应用优势和限制,分析了存在的问题与解决措施,为今后这一方向的深入研究和实践应用提供科学依据和参考。     

重金属胁迫对Pseudomonas alcaligenes LH7抗生素抗性的影响

从广州某养猪场废水处理系统中筛选出1株优势菌Pseudomonas alcaligenes LH7。为了研究重金属胁迫对细菌抗生素抗性响应的影响,采用琼脂稀释法和K-B纸片扩散法,测定了重金属(Cu2+、Zn2+、Cr6+)的最小抑制浓度(MIC),及不同重金属种类和浓度胁迫下,四种抗生素(红霉素、阿莫西林、头孢拉定、四环素)的抑菌圈直径。结果表明:菌体对Cu2+、Zn2+、Cr6+的MIC分别为125、125、100 mg/L,并且具有四环素、阿莫西林、红霉素和头孢拉定多重抗性。重金属与抗生素之间的交互作用对细菌的抗性有显著影响(P0.05)。重金属和抗生素间的交互作用随重金属种类和浓度的不同而改变,可分为三类:低浓度重金属与抗生素共存时表现为协同抗性,高浓度时则表现为协同杀菌,如Cr6+或Zn2+与红霉素,Cu2+与头孢拉定;低浓度重金属与抗生素共存时表现为协同杀菌,高浓度时则表现为协同抗性,如Cr6+或Zn2+与阿莫西林;只与共存重金属种类相关的抗性组合有Cu2+与四环素或阿莫西林或红霉素,Cr6+与头孢拉定。环境中重金属离子的共存将改变抗生素污染物的生态危害和环境行为,并最终影响对应的污染防治技术的开发和应用。     

土壤噬菌体及其介导的抗生素抗性基因水平转移研究进展

土壤中抗生素耐药性的扩散对全球的公共卫生和食品安全造成威胁,严重挑战人类感染类疾病的预防与治疗。噬菌体介导的抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)的水平转移是环境中抗性基因扩散的重要机制。但是,噬菌体对土壤环境中抗性基因传播的贡献尚未见报道。本文综述了土壤环境中噬菌体的分布特征与影响因子,总结了纯化和富集土壤噬菌体的主要研究方法;同时阐述了土壤环境中噬菌体介导抗性基因水平转移的作用机制等相关研究进展,并提出了土壤噬菌体研究领域尚未解决的一些科学问题。本综述将有助于进一步深入理解噬菌体在抗性基因水平传播中的重要生态角色,为制定相关管理政策以减缓抗生素抗性基因污染问题提供基础。     

细菌抗生素和重金属协同选择抗性机制研究进展

随着各类抗生素和新型复合金属材料的不断开发和使用,环境中抗生素和重金属离子协同污染的机率不断提高,对环境选择最为敏感的细菌通过自身的进化和发展形成了二者协同选择的抗性机制,如协同抗性、交叉抗性、协同调控和生物膜诱导机制。     

Metal and antibiotic resistance in psychrotrophic bacteria associated with the Antarctic sponge Hemigellius pilosus (Kirkpatrick, 1907)

High concentrations of heavy metals have been previously detected in Antarctic sponge tissues, but their effect on the associated bacterial assemblages has been never investigated. Metal tolerance is often linked to antibiotic resistance and can also affect biochemical activities within microbial populations. In the present work, the response to heavy metals and antibiotics, as well as the enzymatic profile, of bacteria associated with the sponge Hemigellius pilosus, was analyzed. Tolerance to mercury, cadmium and zinc (at concentrations between 10 and 10,000 ppm) was tested by the plate diffusion method. Almost all isolates completely tolerated zinc and cadmium up to 1,000 and 2,500 ppm, respectively, whereas complete tolerance to mercury was generally observed at concentrations between 10 and 500 ppm. As bacteria can develop resistance in the growing presence of toxic compounds in the environment, this finding could be related to the concentrations of metals in the sponge tissues. The susceptibility assay to 11 antibiotics revealed that multiple antibiotic resistance was generally exhibited, with gentamicin that inhibited all Antarctic isolates. The comparison of the heavy metal and antibiotic resistance patterns at phylogenetic level revealed some distinctive features, suggesting that the dissemination of heavy metal tolerance and antibiotic resistance may possess great relevance for the population dynamics. Additionally, growth patterns often highly differed among strains in the same species, thus appearing to be more likely strain specific rather than species specific. The enzyme expression by the isolates was not really affected by the heavy metal tolerance they showed, as variation in the enzymatic profiles was observed in strains within the same genus that showed different/similar heavy metal tolerance patterns.     

Bacterial tolerances to metals and antibiotics in metal-contaminated and reference streams

Anthropogenic-derived sources of selection are typically implicated as mechanisms for maintaining antibiotic resistance in the environment. Here we report an additional mechanism for maintaining antibiotic resistance in the environment through bacterial exposure to metals. Using a culture-independent approach, bacteria sampled along a gradient of metal contamination were more tolerant of antibiotics and metals compared to bacteria from a reference site. This evidence supports the hypothesis that metal contamination directly selects for metal tolerant bacteria while co-selecting for antibiotic tolerant bacteria. Additionally, to assess how antibiotic and metal tolerance may be transported through a stream network, we studied antibiotic and metal tolerance patterns over three months in bacteria collected from multiple stream microhabitats including the water column, biofilm, sediment and Corbicula fluminea (Asiatic clam) digestive tracts. Sediment bacteria were the most tolerant to antibiotics and metals, while bacteria from Corbicula were the least tolerant. Differences between microhabitats may be important for identifying reservoirs of resistance and for predicting how these genes are transferred and transported in metal-contaminated streams. Temporal dynamics were not directly correlated to a suite of physicochemical parameters, suggesting that tolerance patterns within microhabitats are linked to a complex interaction of the physicochemical characteristics of the stream.     

Insects Represent a Link between Food Animal Farms and the Urban Environment for Antibiotic Resistance Traits

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections result in higher patient mortality rates, prolonged hospitalizations, and increased health care costs. Extensive use of antibiotics as growth promoters in the animal industry represents great pressure for evolution and selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on farms. Despite growing evidence showing that antibiotic use and bacterial resistance in food animals correlate with resistance in human pathogens, the proof for direct transmission of antibiotic resistance is difficult to provide. In this review, we make a case that insects commonly associated with food animals likely represent a direct and important link between animal farms and urban communities for antibiotic resistance traits. Houseflies and cockroaches have been shown to carry multidrug-resistant clonal lineages of bacteria identical to those found in animal manure. Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated proliferation of bacteria and horizontal transfer of resistance genes in the insect digestive tract as well as transmission of resistant bacteria by insects to new substrates. We propose that insect management should be an integral part of pre- and postharvest food safety strategies to minimize spread of zoonotic pathogens and antibiotic resistance traits from animal farms. Furthermore, the insect link between the agricultural and urban environment presents an additional argument for adopting prudent use of antibiotics in the food animal industry.     

Genetic Linkage and Horizontal Gene Transfer,the Roots of the Antibiotic Multi-Resistance Problem

Bacteria carrying resistance genes for many antibiotics are moving beyond the clinic into the community, infecting otherwise healthy people with untreatable and frequently fatal infections. This state of affairs makes it increasingly important that we understand the sources of this problem in terms of bacterial biology and ecology and also that we find some new targets for drugs that will help control this growing epidemic. This brief and eclectic review takes the perspective that we have too long thought about the problem in terms of treatment with or resistance to a single antibiotic at a time, assuming that dissemination of the resistance gene was affected by simple vertical inheritance. In reality antibiotic resistance genes are readily transferred horizontally, even to and from distantly related bacteria. The common agents of bacterial gene transfer are described and also one of the processes whereby nonantibiotic chemicals, specifically toxic metals, in the environment can select for and enrich bacteria with antibiotic multiresistance. Lastly, some speculation is offered on broadening our perspective on this problem to include drugs directed at compromising the ability of the mobile elements themselves to replicate, transfer, and recombine, that is, the three “infrastructure” processes central to the movement of genes among bacteria.     

Evolution and ecology of antibiotic resistance genes

A new perspective on the topic of antibiotic resistance is beginning to emerge based on a broader evolutionary and ecological understanding rather than from the traditional boundaries of clinical research of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. Phylogenetic insights into the evolution and diversity of several antibiotic resistance genes suggest that at least some of these genes have a long evolutionary history of diversification that began well before the 'antibiotic era'. Besides, there is no indication that lateral gene transfer from antibiotic-producing bacteria has played any significant role in shaping the pool of antibiotic resistance genes in clinically relevant and commensal bacteria. Most likely, the primary antibiotic resistance gene pool originated and diversified within the environmental bacterial communities, from which the genes were mobilized and penetrated into taxonomically and ecologically distant bacterial populations, including pathogens. Dissemination and penetration of antibiotic resistance genes from antibiotic producers were less significant and essentially limited to other high G+C bacteria. Besides direct selection by antibiotics, there is a number of other factors that may contribute to dissemination and maintenance of antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial populations.     

Genetic linkage and horizontal gene transfer, the roots of the antibiotic multi-resistance problem

Bacteria carrying resistance genes for many antibiotics are moving beyond the clinic into the community, infecting otherwise healthy people with untreatable and frequently fatal infections. This state of affairs makes it increasingly important that we understand the sources of this problem in terms of bacterial biology and ecology and also that we find some new targets for drugs that will help control this growing epidemic. This brief and eclectic review takes the perspective that we have too long thought about the problem in terms of treatment with or resistance to a single antibiotic at a time, assuming that dissemination of the resistance gene was affected by simple vertical inheritance. In reality antibiotic resistance genes are readily transferred horizontally, even to and from distantly related bacteria. The common agents of bacterial gene transfer are described and also one of the processes whereby nonantibiotic chemicals, specifically toxic metals, in the environment can select for and enrich bacteria with antibiotic multiresistance. Lastly, some speculation is offered on broadening our perspective on this problem to include drugs directed at compromising the ability of the mobile elements themselves to replicate, transfer, and recombine, that is, the three "infrastructure" processes central to the movement of genes among bacteria.     

整合性接合元件SXT-R391分子生物学特性及其转移系统的研究进展

整合性接合元件(Integrative and conjugative elements,ICEs)主要介导原核生物间遗传信息的横向基因交换,在细菌毒性、耐药性、抗重金属等特性传播上发挥关键作用。ICEs的水平转移极大地加速了抗性基因在同种及不同种属之间的传播,造成细菌的耐药以至多重耐药问题日益严重,耐药机制日趋复杂;同时ICEs的接合转移过程受细菌Ⅳ型分泌系统(Type Ⅳ secretion system,T4SS)影响。本文着重从ICEs的基因结构、接合转移过程以及T4SS组成元件的结构进行概述,并对T4SS各组件间相互作用的研究进展进行了初步探讨。     

抗生素耐药性的研究进展与控制策略

抗生素是治疗细菌感染的有效药物,然而抗生素在人类医学及农业生产中的大规模使用催生了细菌耐药性在环境中的快速扩散和传播,特别是多种抗生素的联合使用更是促进了多重耐药性的产生,严重威胁着人类和动物健康及食品与环境安全,相关问题已经引起人们的警觉。因此新研究主要集中在以下几方面:利用组学及合成生物学等方法挖掘并合成新型抗生素;利用高通量技术等系统分析环境中耐药菌及耐药基因新的传播途径及产生的新耐药机制;减抗、替抗及控制耐药基因的策略及其相关工艺。因此,在全面认识耐药基因在环境中传播规律的基础上,如何绿色高效地切断传播途径仍是目前研究的热点。基于此,本文在细菌水平上阐述了抗生素的研发历程、耐药性的发展及控制策略,从而为有效遏制细菌耐药性的发展提供思路。     

Genetic exchange between bacteria in the environment.

Nucleotide sequence analysis, and more recently whole genome analysis, shows that bacterial evolution has often proceeded by horizontal gene flow between different species and genera. In bacteria, gene transfer takes place by transformation, transduction, or conjugation and this review examines the roles of these gene transfer processes, between different bacteria, in a wide variety of ecological niches in the natural environment. This knowledge is necessary for our understanding of plasmid evolution and ecology, as well as for risk assessment. The rise and spread of multiple antibiotic resistance plasmids in medically important bacteria are consequences of intergeneric gene transfer coupled to the selective pressures posed by the increasing use and misuse of antibiotics in medicine and animal feedstuffs. Similarly, the evolution of degradative plasmids is a response to the increasing presence of xenobiotic pollutants in soil and water. Finally, our understanding of the role of horizontal gene transfer in the environment is essential for the evaluation of the possible consequences of the deliberate environmental release of natural or recombinant bacteria for agricultural and bioremediation purposes.     

Natural Hot Spots for Gain of Multiple Resistances: Arsenic and Antibiotic Resistances in Heterotrophic,Aerobic Bacteria from Marine Hydrothermal Vent Fields

Microorganisms are responsible for multiple antibiotic resistances that have been associated with resistance/tolerance to heavy metals, with consequences to public health. Many genes conferring these resistances are located on mobile genetic elements, easily exchanged among phylogenetically distant bacteria. The objective of the present work was to isolate arsenic-, antimonite-, and antibiotic-resistant strains and to determine the existence of plasmids harboring antibiotic/arsenic/antimonite resistance traits in phenotypically resistant strains, in a nonanthropogenically impacted environment. The hydrothermal Lucky Strike field in the Azores archipelago (North Atlantic, between 11°N and 38°N), at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, protected under the OSPAR Convention, was sampled as a metal-rich pristine environment. A total of 35 strains from 8 different species were isolated in the presence of arsenate, arsenite, and antimonite. ACR3 and arsB genes were amplified from the sediment''s total DNA, and 4 isolates also carried ACR3 genes. Phenotypic multiple resistances were found in all strains, and 7 strains had recoverable plasmids. Purified plasmids were sequenced by Illumina and assembled by EDENA V3, and contig annotation was performed using the “Rapid Annotation using the Subsystems Technology” server. Determinants of resistance to copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, and chromium as well as to the antibiotics β-lactams and fluoroquinolones were found in the 3 sequenced plasmids. Genes coding for heavy metal resistance and antibiotic resistance in the same mobile element were found, suggesting the possibility of horizontal gene transfer and distribution of theses resistances in the bacterial population.