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Concurrence of cat and tet Genes in Multiple Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from a Sea Cucumber and Sea Urchin Mariculture Farm in China

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Abstract

A basic understanding of abundance and diversity of antibiotic-resistant microbes and their genetic determinants is necessary for finding a way to prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance. For this purpose, chloramphenicol and multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria were screened from a mariculture farm in northern China. Both sea cucumber and sea urchin rearing ponds were populated with abundant antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially marine vibrios. Sixty-five percent chloramphenicol-resistant isolates from sea cucumber harbored a cat gene, either cat IV or cat II, whereas 35% sea urchin isolates harbored a cat gene, actually cat II. The predominant resistance determinant cat IV gene mainly occurred in isolates related to Vibrio tasmaniensis or Pseudoalteromonas atlantica, and the cat II gene mainly occurred in Vibrio splendidus-like isolates. All the cat-positive isolates also harbored one or two of the tet genes, tet(D), tet(B), or tet(A). As no chloramphenicol-related antibiotic was ever used, coselection of the cat genes by other antibiotics, especially oxytetracycline, might be the cause of the high incidence of cat genes in the mariculture farm studied.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express our appreciation to the anonymous reviewers. With the kind critiques and suggestions from reviewer 1, our manuscript was improved greatly in both scientific accuracy and writing style. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China grants (NSFC grant nos. 40476058 and 40576069), the Pilot Projects of Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences grants (CAS grant nos. KZCX3-SW-223 and KZCX3-SW-233), and the grant from Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS grant no. LSC2-3-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Hongyue Dang & Mingna Chen

  2. Experimental Marine Biology Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Linsheng Song

  3. Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Mingna Chen

  4. Key Lab of Mariculture and Biotechnology, Dalian Fisheries University, Dalian, 116023, China

    Yaqing Chang

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  1. Hongyue Dang
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  2. Linsheng Song
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  4. Yaqing Chang
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Correspondence to Linsheng Song.

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Dang, H., Song, L., Chen, M. et al. Concurrence of cat and tet Genes in Multiple Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from a Sea Cucumber and Sea Urchin Mariculture Farm in China. Microb Ecol 52, 634–643 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9091-3

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