Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2011
Journal or Book Title
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Volume
77
Issue
19
First Page
6945
Last Page
6953
DOI
10.1128/AEM.00717-11
Abstract
Surface water can be contaminated by bacteria from various sources, including manure from agricultural facilities. Attachment of these bacteria to soil and organic particles contributes to their transport through the environment, though the mechanism of attachment is unknown. As bacterial attachment to human tissues is known to be correlated with antibiotic resistance, we have investigated here the relationship between bacterial attachment to environmental particles and antibiotic resistance in agricultural isolates. We evaluated 203 Escherichia coliisolates collected from swine facilities for attachment to quartz, resistance to 13 antibiotics, and the presence of genes encoding 13 attachment factors. The genes encoding type I, EcpA, P pili, and Ag43 were detected, though none was significantly related to attachment. Quartz attachment was positively and significantly (P < 0.0038) related to combined resistance to amoxicillin/streptomycin/tetracycline/sulfamethazine/tylosin/chlortetracycline and negatively and significantly (P < 0.0038) related to combined resistance to nalidixic acid/kanamycin/neomycin. These results provide clear evidence for a link between antibiotic resistance and attachment to quartz in agricultural isolates. We propose that this may be due to encoding by the responsible genes on a mobile genetic element. Further exploration of the relationship between antibiotic resistance and attachment to environmental particles will improve the understanding and modeling of environmental transport processes, with the goal of preventing human exposure to antibiotic-resistant or virulent microorganisms.
Access
Open
Copyright Owner
American Society for Microbiology
Copyright Date
2011
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Liu, Ping; Soupir, Michelle L.; Zwonitzer, Martha R.; Huss, Bridgette; and Jarboe, Laura R., "Association of Antibiotic Resistance in Agricultural Escherichia coli Isolates with Attachment to Quartz" (2011). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications. 436.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/436
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Bacteriology Commons, Biological Engineering Commons, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons
Comments
This article is from Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77 (2011): 6945–6953, doi:10.1128/AEM.00717-11. Posted with permission.