<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Environmental bacteria belonging to various families were isolated from polluted water collected from ten different sites in Tunisia. Sites were chosen near industrial and urban areas known for their high degree of pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate cross-resistance between heavy metals (HM), i.e., silver, mercury and copper (Ag, Hg, and Cu), and antibiotics. In an initial screening, 80 isolates were selected on ampicillin, and 39 isolates, retained for further analysis, could grow on a Tris-buffered mineral medium with gluconate as carbon source. Isolates were identified based on their 16S rRNA gene sequence. Results showed the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes, especially all isolates harbored the <italic>bla</italic>TEM gene. Some of them (15.38%) harbored <italic>bla</italic>SHV. Moreover, several were even ESBLs and MBLs-producers, which can threaten the human health. On the other hand, 92.30%, 56.41%, and 51.28% of the isolates harbored the heavy metals resistance genes <italic>silE</italic>, <italic>cusA</italic>, and <italic>merA</italic>, respectively. These genes confer resistance to silver, copper, and mercury. A cross-resistance between antibiotics and heavy metals was detected in 97.43% of our isolates.</abstract>

Environmental bacteria belonging to various families were isolated from polluted water collected from ten different sites in Tunisia. Sites were chosen near industrial and urban areas known for their high degree of pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate cross-resistance between heavy metals (HM), i.e., silver, mercury and copper (Ag, Hg, and Cu), and antibiotics. In an initial screening, 80 isolates were selected on ampicillin, and 39 isolates, retained for further analysis, could grow on a Tris-buffered mineral medium with gluconate as carbon source. Isolates were identified based on their 16S rRNA gene sequence. Results showed the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes, especially all isolates harbored the blaTEM gene. Some of them (15.38%) harbored blaSHV. Moreover, several were even ESBLs and MBLs-producers, which can threaten the human health. On the other hand, 92.30%, 56.41%, and 51.28% of the isolates harbored the heavy metals resistance genes silE, cusA, and merA, respectively. These genes confer resistance to silver, copper, and mercury. A cross-resistance between antibiotics and heavy metals was detected in 97.43% of our isolates.

First Description of Various Bacteria Resistant to Heavy Metals and Antibiotics Isolated from Polluted Sites in Tunisia

Polish Journal of Microbiology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Environmental bacteria belonging to various families were isolated from polluted water collected from ten different sites in Tunisia. Sites were chosen near...

First Description of Various Bacteria Resistant to Heavy Metals and Antibiotics Isolated from Polluted Sites in Tunisia

Article Category: original-paper

Published Online: Dec 06, 2021

Page range: 161 - 174

Received: Sep 20, 2020

Accepted: Feb 15, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33073/pjm-2021-012

Keywords
contaminated water, environmental bacteria, heavy metals (HM), antibiotics (AB), cross-resistance

© 2021 Samar Ben Miloud et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

First Description of Various Bacteria Resistant to Heavy Metals and Antibiotics Isolated from Polluted Sites in Tunisia

Article Category: original-paper

Published Online: Dec 06, 2021

Page range: 161 - 174

Received: Sep 20, 2020

Accepted: Feb 15, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33073/pjm-2021-012

Keywordscontaminated water, environmental bacteria, heavy metals (HM), antibiotics (AB), cross-resistance

© 2021 Samar Ben Miloud et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
contaminated water, environmental bacteria, heavy metals (HM), antibiotics (AB), cross-resistance