Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Environ Res. 2024 Dec 15;263(Pt 1):120002. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120002. Epub 2024 Sep 13.
Antimicrobial resistance poses the most formidable challenge to public health, with plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer playing a pivotal role in its global spread. Bisphenol compounds (BPs), a group of environmental contaminants with endocrine-disrupting properties, are extensively used in various plastic products and can be transmitted to food. However, the impact of BPs on the plasmid-mediated horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has not yet been elucidated. Herein, we demonstrate that BPs could promote the conjugative transfer frequency of RP4-7 and clinically multidrug-resistant plasmids. Furthermore, the promoting effect of BPs on the plasmid transfer was also confirmed in a murine model. Microbial diversity analysis of transconjugants indicated an increase in α diversity in the BPAF-treated group, along with the declined richness of some beneficial bacteria and elevated richness of Faecalibaculum rodentium, which might serve as an intermediate repository for resistance plasmids. The underlying mechanisms driving the enhanced conjugative transfer upon BPAF treatment include exacerbated oxidative stress, disrupted membrane homeostasis, augmented energy metabolism, and the increased expression of conjugation-related genes. Collectively, our findings highlight the potential risk associated with the exacerbated dissemination of AMR both in vitro and in vivo caused by BPs exposure.
抗微生物药物耐药性对公共卫生构成最严峻的挑战，质粒介导的水平基因转移在其全球传播中起着关键作用。双酚化合物（BPs）是一组具有内分泌干扰特性的环境污染物，广泛应用于各种塑料制品中，并可能传播到食物中。然而，BPs 对质粒介导的抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）水平转移的影响尚未阐明。本研究表明，BPs 可促进 RP4-7 和临床多重耐药质粒的接合转移频率。此外，在小鼠模型中也证实了 BPs 对质粒转移的促进作用。转导子的微生物多样性分析表明，BPAF 处理组的 α 多样性增加，同时一些有益细菌的丰富度降低，而 Faecalibaculum rodentium 的丰富度增加，这可能是耐药质粒的中间储存库。BPAF 处理增强接合转移的潜在机制包括加剧氧化应激、破坏膜稳态、增强能量代谢以及与接合相关基因的表达增加。综上所述，我们的研究结果强调了 BPs 暴露在体外和体内可能加剧抗微生物药物耐药性传播的潜在风险。
