Tsai Ming-An, Chen I-Chun, Chen Zeng-Weng, Li Tsung-Hsien
Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan.
International Program in Ornamental Fish Technology and Aquatic Animal Health, International College, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2024 Oct 22;13(11):998. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13110998.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Marine turtles are globally threatened and face daily anthropogenic threats, including pollution. Water pollution from emerging contaminants such as antimicrobials is a major and current environmental concern.
This study investigated the phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and heavy metal resistance genes of 47 isolates from different stages of sea turtles (oceanic stage vs neritic stage) from the Taiwanese coast.
The results show that a high proportion (48.9%; 23/47) of the species isolated from sea turtles in our study had a multiple antimicrobial resistance (MAR) pattern. It was found that spp. isolates with a MAR pattern and those with a MAR index value greater than 0.2 were both more likely to be observed in neritic-stage sea turtles. Furthermore, isolates from neritic-stage sea turtles exhibited greater resistance to the majority of antimicrobials tested (with the exception of beta-lactams and macrolides) than isolates from the oceanic-stage groups. Isolates from neritic sea turtles were found to be more resistant to nitrofurans and aminoglycosides than isolates from oceanic sea turtles. Furthermore, isolates with a MAR pattern ( = 0.010) and those with a MAR index value greater than 0.2 ( = 0.027) were both found to be significantly positively associated with the mercury reductase () gene.
The findings of our study indicate that co-selection of heavy metals and antimicrobial resistance may occur in aquatic bacteria in the coastal foraging habitats of sea turtles in Taiwan.
背景/目的：海龟在全球范围内受到威胁，每天都面临包括污染在内的人为威胁。来自抗菌剂等新兴污染物的水污染是当前一个主要的环境问题。
本研究调查了从台湾沿海海龟不同阶段（远洋阶段与浅海阶段）分离出的47株菌株的表型抗菌抗性和重金属抗性基因。
结果表明，在我们的研究中，从海龟分离出的物种中有很大比例（48.9%；23/47）具有多重抗菌抗性（MAR）模式。发现具有MAR模式的菌株以及MAR指数值大于0.2的菌株在浅海阶段的海龟中更有可能被观察到。此外，与远洋阶段群体的菌株相比，浅海阶段海龟的菌株对大多数测试抗菌剂（β-内酰胺类和大环内酯类除外）表现出更大的抗性。发现浅海海龟的菌株比远洋海龟的菌株对硝基呋喃类和氨基糖苷类更具抗性。此外，还发现具有MAR模式（P = 0.010）的菌株和MAR指数值大于0.2（P = 0.027）的菌株均与汞还原酶（mer）基因显著正相关。
我们的研究结果表明，在台湾海龟沿海觅食栖息地的水生细菌中，可能会发生重金属与抗菌抗性的共同选择。
