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Multiple-antibiotic-resistant bacteria from the maritime Antarctic

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Abstract

The existence of multiple-antibiotic-resistant strains of environmental bacteria is commonly linked to human activities. However, multiple-antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are also widely found in the Antarctic that has limited human activity. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains among Antarctic bacteria. Forty-five bacterial strains from Estrellas lake of King George Island and Crater lake of Deception Island, Antarctic, were exposed to 30 different antibiotics. Forty out of the 45 bacterial strains were affiliated to 12 genera, Aeromicrobium, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Brevundimonas, Cryobacterium, Dyadobacter, Flavobacterium, Methylibium, Pedobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, and Sphingomonas. Among the bacteria, 43 strains were resistant to at least three antibiotics, and 26 strains were resistant to 10 or more different antibiotics. Pseudomonas spp. and four unknown Microbacteriaceae bacteria were found to be resistant to majority of the antibiotics tested. Two bacteria, each from Estrellas and Crater lakes, were sensitive to all the antibiotics tested. These results indicated that Antarctic bacteria are probably the reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Malaysian Antarctic Research Programme (MARP), Academy of Sciences, Malaysia (ASM); Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia; and Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACH), Chile. The authors would like to thank personnel at INACH and Biociencia Fundacion Cientifica Y Cultural, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile especially José Retamales, Marcelo Leppe, Paulina Julio Rocamora, Verónica Vallejos, Cristian Rodrigo, Patricio Barraza and Jenny Blamey for their advise and logistic supports. We would also like to thank Jacqueline Yong for reading and amending the final draft of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Heng Keat Tam, Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong & Sheau Ting Yong

  2. National Antarctic Research Centre, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong

  3. Biociencia Fundacion Cientifica Y Cultural, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile

    Jenny Blamey

  4. Instituto Antártico Chileno, Plaza Muñoz Gamero 1055, Punta Arenas, Chile

    Marcelo González

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  1. Heng Keat Tam
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  2. Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong
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Correspondence to Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong.

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Tam, H.K., Wong, C.M.V.L., Yong, S.T. et al. Multiple-antibiotic-resistant bacteria from the maritime Antarctic. Polar Biol 38, 1129–1141 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1671-6

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