Combined Toxic Effects of Heavy Metals and Antibiotics on a Pseudomonas fluorescens Strain ZY2 Isolated from Swine Wastewater

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yan Zhou²  Yan-Bin Xu¹  Jia-Xin Xu²  Xiao-Hua Zhang²  Shi-Hui Xu²  Qing-Ping Du² 

[1]School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China

关键词: Pseudomonas fluorescens;    resistance;    antibiotic;    heavy metal;    swine wastewater;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms16022839

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

A Pseudomonas fluorescens strain ZY2, isolated from swine wastewater, was used to investigate the synergistic effects of five heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr(VI) and Hg) on bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Results indicate that the combined effects of antibiotic type, heavy metal type and concentration were significant (p < 0.01). Cross-resistance to Hg and antibiotics was the most noticeable. Moreover, the resistance to Hg and cefradine or amoxicillin, and Cr and amoxicillin were synergistic for low heavy metal concentrations, and turned antagonistic with increasing concentrations, while the resistances to Cr or Cu and cefradine, Pb or Cu and amoxicillin, Cu and norfloxacin showed reverse effects. In addition, resistance to Zn and amoxicillin were always synergetic, while resistance to Pb and cefradine or norfloxacin, Cr or Hg and norfloxacin as well as all the heavy metals and tetracycline were antagonistic. These results indicate that bacterial resistance to antibiotics can be affected by the type and concentration of co-exposed heavy metals and may further threaten people’s health and ecological security severely via horizontal gene transfer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.