TY - JOUR
T1 - Antibiotic resistance genes as landscape anthropization indicators
T2 - Using a wild felid as sentinel in Chile
AU - Sacristán, Irene
AU - Esperón, Fernando
AU - Acuña, Francisca
AU - Aguilar, Emilio
AU - García, Sebastián
AU - López, María José
AU - Cevidanes, Aitor
AU - Neves, Elena
AU - Cabello, Javier
AU - Hidalgo-Hermoso, Ezequiel
AU - Poulin, Elie
AU - Millán, Javier
AU - Napolitano, Constanza
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2020/2/10
Y1 - 2020/2/10
N2 - Antimicrobial resistance is a global emerging public health issue whose presence and impact in wildlife are widely unknown. Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) are considered environmental contaminants, suitable to evaluate the degree of anthropic impact on wildlife and the environment. We used a wild felid, the guigna (Leopardus guigna), as a sentinel for the presence of ARGs in anthropized and pristine areas across their entire distribution range in Chile. We evaluated fecal samples from 51 wild guignas, collected between 2009 and 2018. Real-time PCR essays were employed to detect and quantify 22 selected ARGs in their fecal microbiome. All animals (100%) were positive for at least one ARG. The most prevalent ARG families were those that confer resistance to tetracycline (88.2%) and beta-lactamase (68.9%), with tet(Q) (60.8%), tet(W) (60.8%), and blaTEM (66.7%) as the most prevalent ARGs. Multi-resistance profiles were observed in 43% of the guignas. Statistically significant differences were found between anthropized and pristine areas for tet(Q) (p = 0.014), tet(W) (p = 0.0037), tetracycline family (p = 0.027), multi-resistance profile prevalence (p = 0.043) and tet(W) quantification (p = 0.004). Two animals from anthropized landscapes were positive for mecA, a gene associated with Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococci resistant to methicillin, while three animals from anthropized areas were positive for blaCTX-M, that encodes class A extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. Both genes have been identified in bacteria causing relevant nosocomial infections worldwide. This is the first study on ARGs in wild felids from Chile and the first detection of mecA in South American wild felids. We observed an association between the degree of landscape anthropization and ARG prevalence, confirming that ARGs are important indicators of wildlife exposure to human activity/presence, with a widespread distribution.
AB - Antimicrobial resistance is a global emerging public health issue whose presence and impact in wildlife are widely unknown. Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) are considered environmental contaminants, suitable to evaluate the degree of anthropic impact on wildlife and the environment. We used a wild felid, the guigna (Leopardus guigna), as a sentinel for the presence of ARGs in anthropized and pristine areas across their entire distribution range in Chile. We evaluated fecal samples from 51 wild guignas, collected between 2009 and 2018. Real-time PCR essays were employed to detect and quantify 22 selected ARGs in their fecal microbiome. All animals (100%) were positive for at least one ARG. The most prevalent ARG families were those that confer resistance to tetracycline (88.2%) and beta-lactamase (68.9%), with tet(Q) (60.8%), tet(W) (60.8%), and blaTEM (66.7%) as the most prevalent ARGs. Multi-resistance profiles were observed in 43% of the guignas. Statistically significant differences were found between anthropized and pristine areas for tet(Q) (p = 0.014), tet(W) (p = 0.0037), tetracycline family (p = 0.027), multi-resistance profile prevalence (p = 0.043) and tet(W) quantification (p = 0.004). Two animals from anthropized landscapes were positive for mecA, a gene associated with Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococci resistant to methicillin, while three animals from anthropized areas were positive for blaCTX-M, that encodes class A extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. Both genes have been identified in bacteria causing relevant nosocomial infections worldwide. This is the first study on ARGs in wild felids from Chile and the first detection of mecA in South American wild felids. We observed an association between the degree of landscape anthropization and ARG prevalence, confirming that ARGs are important indicators of wildlife exposure to human activity/presence, with a widespread distribution.
KW - Antimicrobial resistance
KW - Bla
KW - Landscape anthropization
KW - Leopardus guigna
KW - MecA
KW - Public health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075888234&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134900
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134900
M3 - Article
C2 - 31757538
AN - SCOPUS:85075888234
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 703
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 134900
ER -
