Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China; Hainan Sansha Provincial Observation and Research Station of Sea Turtle Ecology, Sansha 573199, China.
Hainan Sansha Provincial Observation and Research Station of Sea Turtle Ecology, Sansha 573199, China; Marine Protected Area Administration of Sansha City, Sansha 573199, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Dec 1;954:176716. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176716. Epub 2024 Oct 3.
Sea turtles, vital to marine ecosystems, face population decline. Artificial breeding is a recovery strategy, yet it risks introducing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to wild populations and ecosystems. This study employed metagenomic techniques to compare the distribution characteristics of ARGs in the guts of wild and artificially bred green turtles (Chelonia mydas). The findings revealed that the total abundance of ARGs in C. mydas that have been artificially bred was significantly higher than that in wild individuals. Additionally, the abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) co-occurring with ARGs in artificially bred C. mydas was significantly higher than in wild C. mydas. In the analysis of bacteria carrying ARGs, wild C. mydas exhibited greater bacterial diversity. Furthermore, in artificially bred C. mydas, we discovered 23 potential human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) that contain antibiotic resistance genes. In contrast, in wild C. mydas, only one type of HPB carrying an antibiotic resistance gene was found. The findings of this study not only enhance our understanding of the distribution and dissemination of ARGs within the gut microbial communities of C. mydas, but also provide vital information for assessing the potential impact of releasing artificially bred C. mydas on the spread of antibiotic resistance.
海龟对海洋生态系统至关重要，但它们的数量正在减少。人工繁殖是一种恢复策略，但它有可能将抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）引入野生种群和生态系统。本研究采用宏基因组技术比较了野生和人工养殖绿海龟（Chelonia mydas）肠道中 ARG 的分布特征。研究结果表明，人工养殖的 C. mydas 肠道中 ARG 的总丰度明显高于野生个体。此外，与 ARGs 共存的可移动遗传元件（MGEs）在人工养殖的 C. mydas 中的丰度明显高于野生的 C. mydas。在携带 ARGs 的细菌分析中，野生 C. mydas 表现出更高的细菌多样性。此外，在人工养殖的 C. mydas 中，我们发现了 23 种可能携带抗生素耐药基因的人类致病菌（HPB）。相比之下，在野生的 C. mydas 中，只发现了一种携带抗生素耐药基因的 HPB。本研究的结果不仅提高了我们对 C. mydas 肠道微生物群落中 ARGs 分布和传播的认识，还为评估释放人工养殖的 C. mydas 对抗生素耐药性传播的潜在影响提供了重要信息。
