Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin 300050, China.
Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin 300050, China; Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 5;451:131087. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131087. Epub 2023 Feb 24.
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) mediated by conjugative plasmids greatly contributes to bacteria evolution and the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In addition to the selective pressure imposed by extensive antibiotic use, environmental chemical pollutants facilitate the dissemination of antibiotic resistance, consequently posing a serious threat to the ecological environment. Presently, the majority of studies focus on the effects of environmental compounds on R plasmid-mediated conjugation transfer, and pheromone-inducible conjugation has largely been neglected. In this study, we explored the pheromone effect and potential molecular mechanisms of estradiol in promoting the conjugative transfer of pCF10 plasmid in Enterococcus faecalis. Environmentally relevant concentrations of estradiol significantly increased the conjugative transfer of pCF10 with a maximum frequency of 3.2 × 10, up to 3.5-fold change compared to that of control. Exposure to estradiol induced the activation of pheromone signaling cascade by increasing the expression of ccfA. Furthermore, estradiol might directly bind to the pheromone receptor PrgZ and promote pCF10 induction and finally enhance the conjugative transfer of pCF10. These findings cast valuable insights on the roles of estradiol and its homolog in increasing antibiotic resistance and the potential ecological risk.
水平基因转移（HGT）通过可移动质粒介导，极大地促进了细菌的进化和抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）的传播。除了广泛使用抗生素所带来的选择压力外，环境化学污染物还促进了抗生素耐药性的传播，从而对生态环境构成了严重威胁。目前，大多数研究都集中在环境化合物对 R 质粒介导的接合转移的影响上，而信息素诱导的接合在很大程度上被忽视了。在这项研究中，我们探讨了环境相关浓度的雌二醇在促进粪肠球菌中 pCF10 质粒的接合转移中的信息素效应和潜在分子机制。与对照组相比，环境相关浓度的雌二醇显著增加了 pCF10 的接合转移，最大频率为 3.2×10-7，增加了 3.5 倍。雌二醇的暴露通过增加 ccfA 的表达诱导了信息素信号级联的激活。此外，雌二醇可能直接与信息素受体 PrgZ 结合，促进 pCF10 的诱导，最终增强 pCF10 的接合转移。这些发现为雌二醇及其同系物在增加抗生素耐药性和潜在生态风险方面的作用提供了有价值的见解。
