Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, AL36849, Auburn, AL, USA.
Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2020 Apr 1;96(4). doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiaa027.
Flies are well-known vectors of bacterial pathogens, but there are little data on their role in spreading microbial community and antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we compared the bacterial community, antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in flies with those in the feces of sympatric animals. A 16S rRNA-based microbial analysis identified 23 bacterial phyla in fecal samples and 25 phyla in flies; all the phyla identified in the fecal samples were also found in the flies. Bray-Curtis dissimilarity analysis showed that the microbiota of the flies were more similar to the microbiota of the feces of their sympatric animals than those of the feces from the three other animal species studied. The qPCR array amplified 276 ARGs/MGEs in fecal samples, and 216 ARGs/MGEs in the flies, while 198 of these genes were identified in both flies and feces. Long-term studies with larger sample numbers from more geospatially distinct populations and infection trials are indicated to further evaluate the possibility of flies as sentinels for antimicrobial resistance.
蝇类是众所周知的细菌病原体的载体，但关于它们在传播微生物群落和抗生素耐药性方面的作用的数据很少。在这项研究中，我们比较了共生动物粪便中和蝇类中的细菌群落、抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）和可移动遗传元件（MGEs）。基于 16S rRNA 的微生物分析在粪便样本中鉴定出 23 个细菌门，在蝇类中鉴定出 25 个门；粪便样本中鉴定出的所有门也存在于蝇类中。Bray-Curtis 不相似性分析表明，与研究的其他三种动物的粪便相比，蝇类的微生物群落与其共生动物的粪便微生物群落更为相似。qPCR 阵列扩增了粪便样本中的 276 个 ARGs/MGEs 和蝇类中的 216 个 ARGs/MGEs，其中 198 个基因在蝇类和粪便中均有发现。需要进行更多地理位置不同的大样本数量的长期研究和感染试验，以进一步评估蝇类作为抗生素耐药性监测者的可能性。
