School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2024 Mar 5;465:133272. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133272. Epub 2023 Dec 16.
The coexistence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in human bacterial pathogens (HBPs) increases their risks to ecological security and human health and no effective strategy is available. Herein, we demonstrated two typical quorum sensing (QS) interfering agents, 4-nitropyridine-N-oxide (4-NPO, a QS inhibitor) and Acylase Ⅰ (a quorum quenching (QQ) enzyme), effectively decreased the abundance of HBPs by 48.30% and 72.54%, respectively, which was accompanied by the reduction of VFGs, ARGs, and MGEs. The decrease in QS signals mediated by QS interfering agents disturbed bacterial communication and inhibited biofilm formation. More importantly, QS interfering agents reduced the intra-species and inter-species conjugation frequencies among bacteria, considerably inhibiting the dissemination of ARGs and VFGs via horizontal gene transfer. Furthermore, the QS interfering agents did not significantly affect the metabolic function of other nonpathogenic microorganisms in the soil. Collectively, our study provides an effective and eco-friendly strategy to mitigate the risks of HBPs in soil.
抗生素耐药基因 (ARGs)、移动遗传元件 (MGEs) 和毒力因子基因 (VFGs) 在人类细菌病原体 (HBPs) 中共存，增加了它们对生态安全和人类健康的风险，且目前尚无有效的策略。在此，我们展示了两种典型的群体感应 (QS) 干扰剂，4-硝基吡啶-N-氧化物 (4-NPO，一种 QS 抑制剂) 和酰化酶 Ⅰ (一种群体淬灭 (QQ) 酶)，它们分别有效地将 HBPs 的丰度降低了 48.30%和 72.54%，同时伴随着 VFGs、ARGs 和 MGEs 的减少。QS 干扰剂介导的 QS 信号的减少扰乱了细菌的通讯并抑制了生物膜的形成。更重要的是，QS 干扰剂降低了细菌之间的种内和种间接合频率，极大地抑制了 ARGs 和 VFGs 通过水平基因转移的传播。此外，QS 干扰剂对土壤中其他非致病性微生物的代谢功能没有显著影响。总的来说，我们的研究提供了一种有效且环保的策略，以减轻土壤中 HBPs 的风险。
