Biofilm-Forming Clinical Staphylococcus Isolates Harbor Horizontal Transfer and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Frontiers in Microbiology

Carlos Garbisu¹  Olatz Garaiyurrebaso²  Itziar Alkorta²  Itxaso Álvarez-Rodríguez²  Sandra Águila-Arcos²  Elisabeth Grohmann³ 

[1] Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, Soil Microbial Ecology Group, NEIKER-Tecnalia, Derio, Spain;Instituto Biofisika (UPV/EHU, CSIC), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain;Life Sciences and Technology, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany;

关键词: Staphylococci;    biofilm;    relaxases;    antibiotic resistance;    nosocomial infections;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2017.02018

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Infections caused by staphylococci represent a medical concern, especially when related to biofilms located in implanted medical devices, such as prostheses and catheters. Unfortunately, their frequent resistance to high doses of antibiotics makes the treatment of these infections a difficult task. Moreover, biofilms represent a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by bacterial conjugation. In this work, 25 biofilm-forming clinical staphylococcal isolates were studied. We found that Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates showed a higher biofilm-forming capacity than Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Additionally, horizontal transfer and relaxase genes of two common staphylococcal plasmids, pSK41 and pT181, were detected in all isolates. In terms of antibiotic resistance genes, aac6-aph2a, ermC, and tetK genes, which confer resistance to gentamicin, erythromycin, and tetracycline, respectively, were the most prevalent. The horizontal transfer and antibiotic resistance genes harbored on these staphylococcal clinical strains isolated from biofilms located in implanted medical devices points to the potential risk of the development and dissemination of multiresistant bacteria.

【 授权许可】

Unknown