Division of Biodeterioration and Reference Organisms (4.1), Department of Materials and the Environment, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany.
Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Internal Medicine - Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
J Hazard Mater. 2022 Sep 5;437:129280. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129280. Epub 2022 Jun 3.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem with the environment being an important compartment for the evolution and transmission of AMR. Previous studies showed that de-novo mutagenesis and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by conjugation or transformation - important processes underlying resistance evolution and spread - are affected by antibiotics, metals and pesticides. However, natural microbial communities are also frequently exposed to biocides used as material preservatives, but it is unknown if these substances induce mutagenesis and HGT. Here, we show that active substances used in material preservatives can increase rates of mutation and conjugation in a species- and substance-dependent manner, while rates of transformation are not increased. The bisbiguanide chlorhexidine digluconate, the quaternary ammonium compound didecyldimethylammonium chloride, the metal copper, the pyrethroid-insecticide permethrin, and the azole-fungicide propiconazole increase mutation rates in Escherichia coli, whereas no increases were identified for Bacillus subtilis and Acinetobacter baylyi. Benzalkonium chloride, chlorhexidine and permethrin increased conjugation in E. coli. Moreover, our results show a connection between the RpoS-mediated general stress and the RecA-linked SOS response with increased rates of mutation and conjugation, but not for all biocides. Taken together, our data show the importance of assessing the contribution of material preservatives on AMR evolution and spread.
抗微生物药物耐药性（AMR）是一个全球性的健康问题，环境是 AMR 进化和传播的一个重要场所。先前的研究表明，脱靶突变和水平基因转移（HGT）通过接合或转化——耐药性进化和传播的重要过程——受到抗生素、金属和农药的影响。然而，自然微生物群落也经常接触用作材料防腐剂的杀生物剂，但尚不清楚这些物质是否会诱导突变和 HGT。在这里，我们表明，材料防腐剂中的活性物质可以以物种和物质依赖的方式增加突变和接合的速率，而转化的速率没有增加。双胍盐氯己定葡萄糖酸盐、季铵化合物双十二烷基二甲基氯化铵、金属铜、拟除虫菊酯杀虫剂氯菊酯和唑类杀菌剂丙环唑增加了大肠杆菌的突变率，而枯草芽孢杆菌和不动杆菌的突变率没有增加。苯扎氯铵、氯己定和氯菊酯增加了大肠杆菌的接合率。此外，我们的结果表明，RpoS 介导的一般应激和 RecA 相关的 SOS 反应与突变和接合率的增加之间存在联系，但并非所有杀生物剂都如此。总之，我们的数据表明，评估材料防腐剂对 AMR 进化和传播的贡献的重要性。
