Heavy metal resistance genes and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in Arthrobacter sp. isolated from Brazilian soils

Gallo, Inara Fernanda Lage; Furlan, João Pedro Rueda; Sanchez, Danilo Garcia; Stehling, Eliana Guedes

doi:10.1007/s10482-019-01281-9

Original Paper
Published: 25 May 2019

Heavy metal resistance genes and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in Arthrobacter sp. isolated from Brazilian soils

Inara Fernanda Lage Gallo¹,
João Pedro Rueda Furlan¹,
Danilo Garcia Sanchez¹ &
Eliana Guedes Stehling ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4362-3203^nAff1

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek volume 112, pages 1553–1558 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Arthrobacter sp. are Gram-positive bacilli commonly obtained from soil and in the hospital environment. These species have been reported to cause several types of infection. Heavy metals are a threat to the ecological system due to their high-levels of toxicity and the fluoroquinolones are antimicrobials widely used for the treatment of different bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the resistance to fluoroquinolone and heavy metals, the presence of plasmid-mediated resistance (PMQR) genes and heavy metals resistance (HMR) genes and the presence of plasmids in Arthrobacter sp. obtained from Brazilian soils. Bacterial isolation was performed using soil samples from different Brazilian regions. The bacterial identification was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The resistance profile for fluoroquinolones and heavy metals was determined by MIC. Several PMQR and HMR genes and plasmid families were investigated by PCR. Eight isolates were obtained from soil samples from different cultivations and regions of Brazil. All isolates were resistant to all fluoroquinolones, cadmium, cobalt and zinc and the majority to copper. Among the PMQR genes, the qepA (4) was the most prevalent, followed by qnrS (3), qnrB (3), oqxB (2) and oqxA (1). Among the HMR genes, the copA was detected in all isolates and the czcA in two isolates. The replication origin of the ColE-like plasmid was detected in all isolates; however, no plasmid was detected by extraction. The association of resistance to heavy metals and antimicrobials is a threat to the environmental balance and to human health. There are no studies reporting the association of PMQR and HMR genes in bacteria belonging to the genus Arthrobacter. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of qnrB, qepA, oqxA and oqxB in Arthrobacter species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP [Grant Number 2015/18990-2].

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Eliana Guedes Stehling
Present address: Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av. do Café S/N. Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-903, Brasil

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Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av. do Café S/N. Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-903, Brasil
Inara Fernanda Lage Gallo, João Pedro Rueda Furlan & Danilo Garcia Sanchez

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Inara Fernanda Lage Gallo
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João Pedro Rueda Furlan
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Danilo Garcia Sanchez
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Eliana Guedes Stehling
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IFLG, JPRF, DGS and EGS performed the laboratory work and analyzed the results; EGS supervised the work; IFLG and EGS wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Eliana Guedes Stehling.

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Gallo, I.F.L., Furlan, J.P.R., Sanchez, D.G. et al. Heavy metal resistance genes and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in Arthrobacter sp. isolated from Brazilian soils. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 112, 1553–1558 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-019-01281-9

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Received: 11 January 2019
Accepted: 17 May 2019
Published: 25 May 2019
Issue Date: October 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-019-01281-9

Keywords

Arthrobacter sp.
Soil
PMQR
Heavy metal
ColE-like