Horizontal Spread of Rhodococcus equi Macrolide Resistance Plasmid pRErm46 across Environmental Actinobacteria.

ABSTRACT: Conjugation is one of the main mechanisms involved in the spread and maintenance of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. We recently showed that the emerging macrolide resistance in the soilborne equine and zoonotic pathogen Rhodococcus equi is conferred by the erm(46) gene carried on the 87-kb conjugative plasmid pRErm46. Here, we investigated the conjugal transferability of pRErm46 to 14 representative bacteria likely encountered by R. equi in the environmental habitat. In vitro mating experiments demonstrated conjugation to different members of the genus Rhodococcus as well as to Nocardia and Arthrobacter spp. at frequencies ranging from ∼10-2 to 10-6 pRErm46 transfer was also observed in mating experiments in soil and horse manure, albeit at a low frequency and after prolong

SUBMITTER: Alvarez-Narvaez S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7170479 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature