Incidence of Class 1 Integrons in a Quaternary Ammonium Compound-Polluted Environment
Open Access
- 1 May 2005
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
- Vol. 49 (5) , 1802-1807
- https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.49.5.1802-1807.2005
Abstract
Samples of effluent and soil were collected from a reed bed system used to remediate liquid waste from a wool finishing mill with a high use of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and were compared with samples of agricultural soils. Resistance quotients of aerobic gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria to ditallowdimethylammomium chloride (DTDMAC) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were established by plating onto nutrient agar containing 5 μg/ml or 50 μg/ml DTDMAC or CTAB. Approximately 500 isolates were obtained and screened for the presence of theintI1(class 1 integrase),qacE(multidrug efflux), andqacEΔ1(attenuatedqacE) genes. QAC resistance was higher in isolates from reed bed samples, and class 1 integron incidence was significantly higher for populations that were preexposed to QACs. This is the first study to demonstrate that QAC selection in the natural environment has the potential to coselect for antibiotic resistance, as class 1 integrons are well-established vectors for cassette genes encoding antibiotic resistance.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effects of Quaternary-Ammonium-Based Formulations on Bacterial Community Dynamics and Antimicrobial SusceptibilityApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2004
- Novel Plasmid-Borne Gene qacJ Mediates Resistance to Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Equine Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus simulans , and Staphylococcus intermediusAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2003
- Potential Impact of Increased Use of Biocides in Consumer Products on Prevalence of Antibiotic ResistanceClinical Microbiology Reviews, 2003
- Integron-Containing IncU R Plasmids pRAS1 and pAr-32 from the Fish Pathogen Aeromonas salmonicidaAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2003
- Interactions between Biocide Cationic Agents and Bacterial BiofilmsAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2002
- Class 1 Integrons Mediate Antibiotic Resistance in the Fish PathogenAeromonas salmonicidaWorldwideMicrobial Drug Resistance, 2001
- Current status of the aadA and dfr gene cassette familiesJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2001
- Association of qacE and qacEΔ1 with multiple resistance to antibiotics and antiseptics in clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteriaFEMS Microbiology Letters, 2000
- Association ofqacEandqacEΔ1 with multiple resistance to antibiotics and antiseptics in clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteriaFEMS Microbiology Letters, 2000
- TheStaphylococcus qacHgene product: a new member of the SMR family encoding multidrug resistanceFEMS Microbiology Letters, 1998