Souza Stephanie S R, Turcotte Madison R, Li Jinfeng, Zhang Xinglu, Wolfe Kristin L, Gao Fengxiang, Benton Christopher S, Andam Cheryl P
Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, United States.
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Concord, NH, United States.
Front Microbiol. 2022 Oct 19;13:983083. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.983083. eCollection 2022.
Microbes frequently encounter heavy metals and other toxic compounds generated from natural biogeochemical processes and anthropogenic activities. Here, we analyzed the prevalence and association of genes conferring resistance to heavy metals, biocides, and antimicrobial compounds in 394 genome sequences of clinical human-derived from New Hampshire, USA. The most prevalent was the gold operon (), which was present in 99.2% of the genomes. In contrast, the other five heavy metal operons (arsenic, copper, mercury, silver, tellurite) were present in 0.76% (3/394)-5.58% (22/394) of the total population. The heavy metal operons and three biocide resistance genes were differentially distributed across 15 sequence types (STs) and 16 serotypes. The number of heavy metal operons and biocide resistance genes per genome was significantly associated with high number of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes per genome. Notable is the mercury operon which exhibited significant association with genes conferring resistance to aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, diaminopyrimidine, sulfonamide, and fosfomycin. The mercury operon was co-located with the AMR genes , , , and , , and genes within the same plasmid types. Lastly, we found evidence for negative selection of individual genes of each heavy metal operon and the biocide resistance genes (dN/dS < 1). Our study highlights the need for continued surveillance of serotypes that carry those genes that confer resistance to heavy metals and biocides that are often associated with mobile AMR genes. The selective pressures imposed by heavy metals and biocides on may contribute to the co-selection and spread of AMR in human infections.
微生物经常会遇到自然生物地球化学过程和人为活动产生的重金属及其他有毒化合物。在此，我们分析了来自美国新罕布什尔州临床分离的394个人源基因组序列中赋予重金属、杀生物剂和抗菌化合物抗性的基因的流行情况及关联性。最普遍的是金操纵子，存在于99.2%的基因组中。相比之下，其他五个重金属操纵子（砷、铜、汞、银、亚碲酸盐）在总群体中的存在率为0.76%（3/394）至5.58%（22/394）。重金属操纵子和三个杀生物剂抗性基因在15种序列类型（STs）和16种血清型中分布存在差异。每个基因组中重金属操纵子和杀生物剂抗性基因的数量与每个基因组中大量抗菌抗性（AMR）基因显著相关。值得注意的是，汞操纵子与赋予氨基糖苷类、头孢菌素类、二氨基嘧啶、磺胺类和磷霉素抗性的基因表现出显著关联。汞操纵子与AMR基因、、、以及、、基因位于同一质粒类型内。最后，我们发现了每个重金属操纵子的单个基因和杀生物剂抗性基因存在负选择的证据（dN/dS < 1）。我们的研究强调需要持续监测携带那些赋予重金属和杀生物剂抗性且通常与移动AMR基因相关的基因的血清型。重金属和杀生物剂对施加的选择压力可能有助于AMR在人类感染中的共同选择和传播。
