Further Evidence of Anthropogenic Impact: High Levels of Multiple-Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria Found in Neritic-Stage Sea Turtles
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. Methods: This study investigated the phenotypic antimicrobial resis...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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MDPI AG,
2024-10-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | 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. Methods: This study investigated the phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and heavy metal resistance genes of 47 <i>Vibrio</i> isolates from different stages of sea turtles (oceanic stage vs neritic stage) from the Taiwanese coast. Results: The results show that a high proportion (48.9%; 23/47) of the <i>Vibrio</i> species isolated from sea turtles in our study had a multiple antimicrobial resistance (MAR) pattern. It was found that <i>Vibrio</i> 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 (<i>p</i> = 0.010) and those with a MAR index value greater than 0.2 (<i>p</i> = 0.027) were both found to be significantly positively associated with the mercury reductase (<i>merA</i>) gene. Conclusions: 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. |
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| Item Description: | 10.3390/antibiotics13110998 2079-6382 |