Synthetic multi-antibiotic resistant plasmids in plant-associated bacteria from agricultural soils

BRAMBILLA, SILVINA; FRARE, ROMINA; STRITZLER, MARGARITA; SOTO, GABRIELA; BERINI, CAROLINA; JOZEFKOWICZ, CINTIA; AYUB, NICOLÁS

Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance

Elsevier

Año: 2020

2213-7165

Objectives: Unlike higher organisms such as domestic animals and cultivated plants, which display arobust reproductive isolation and limited dispersal ability, microbes exhibit an extremely promiscuousgene flow and can rapidly disperse across the planet by multiple ways. Thus, microbial plasmids,including synthetic replicons, containing antibiotic resistance genes are a serious risk to public health.In this short communication, we explored the presence of synthetic elements in alfalfa symbionts(Ensifer meliloti strains) from agricultural soils.Methods: A total of 148 E. meliloti isolates from alfalfa plants growing under field conditions werecollected from January 2015 to June 2019. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed underlaboratory conditions. We identified five kanamycin-resistant E. meliloti strains (named K1-K5). Wholegenome sequencing analysis and conjugations were used to identify and study the plasmids of K strains.Results: We found that the genomes of K strains contain ampicillin, kanamycin and tetracyclineresistance genes, the reporter gene lacZ from Escherichia coli and multiple cloning sites. Thesesequences were found within