Association of mercury resistance with antibiotic resistance in the gram-negative fecal bacteria of primates.

Author: Wireman J, Liebert CA, Smith T, Summers AO.

Source: Appl Environ Microbiol.

Year: 1997

Comment:

This primate study examines mercury resistance and antibiotic resistance.

Abstract / Excerpt:

“Gram-negative fecal bacterial from three longitudinal Hg exposure experiments and from two independent survey collections were examined for their carriage of the mercury resistance (mer) locus. The occurrence of antibiotic resistance was also assessed in both mercury-resistant (Hgr) and mercury-susceptible (Hgs) isolates from the same collections. The longitudinal studies involved exposure of the intestinal flora to Hg released from amalgam “silver” dental restorations in six monkeys. Hgr strains were recovered before the installation of amalgams, and frequently these became the dominant strains while amalgams were installed. Such persistent Hgr strains always carried the same mer locus throughout the experiments. In both the longitudinal and survey collections, certain mer loci were preferentially associated with one genus, whereas other mer loci were recovered from many genera. In general, strains with any mer locus were more likely to be multi resistant than were strains without mer loci; this clustering tendency was also seen for antibiotic resistance genes. However, the association of antibiotic multi resistance with mer loci was not random; regardless of source, certain mer loci occurred in highly multi resistant strains (with as many as seven antibiotic resistances), whereas other mer loci were found in strains without any antibiotic resistance. The majority of highly mult iresistant Hgr strains also carried genes characteristic of an integron, a novel genetic element which enables the formation of tandem arrays of antibiotic resistance genes. Hgr strains lacking antibiotic resistance showed no evidence of integron components.”

Citation:

Wireman J, Liebert CA, Smith T, Summers AO. Association of mercury resistance with antibiotic resistance in the gram-negative fecal bacteria of primates. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1997; 63(11):4494-503.