LEAH TIVOLI
Clostridium perfringens: A reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment?
Environmental Health, MS
Preceptor: John Scott Meschke, PhD
Clostridium perfringens is one of the most ubiquitous bacteria found in soil, water, food and animal and human feces. C. perfringens has been reported to carry a number of resistance genes, however its ability to serve as a reservoir is not well understood. In this study, we examined the prevalence and distribution of acquired antibiotic resistance genes in C. perfringens isolated from water, soil and sediment between 2003-06, from 11 states [MD, TX, IN, ID, WA, CA, MO, PA, AZ, FL and NC]. We identified 164 C. perfringens primarily from water, soil and sediment which were screened for the carriage of 3 different tetracycline (tet) genes [tetP(A), tetP(B), tet(M)] and for four different macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS) genes [mef(A), erm(B), erm(F), erm(Q)] using DNA-DNA hybridization as a screen and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and hybridization of the PCR products for verification. Because many of the genes we found to be carried by C. perfringens are associated with conjugative elements, we performed conjugation experiments to determine if C. perfringens was capable of gene transfer to bacteria outside the genus. To determine if the C. perfringens carried their antibiotic resistance genes on conjugative elements, we used ten C. perfringens isolates as donors and Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 as recipient in mating studies. All donors were able to transfer macrolide resistance to JH2-2. Considering data from conjugation experiments and the multitude of genes carried, we suggest C. perfringens could be a reservoir for these genes in the environment and further study is warranted.
