Influences and mechanisms of nanofullerene on the horizontal transfer of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance genes between <i>E. coli</i> strains

doi:10.1007/s11783-020-1287-0

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (6) : 108 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1287-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Influences and mechanisms of nanofullerene on the horizontal transfer of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance genes between E. coli strains

Qingkun Ji¹, Caihong Zhang²(

), Dan Li¹(

)

¹. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
². Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China

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Abstract

• Sub-inhibitory levels of nC₆₀ promote conjugative transfer of ARGs.

• nC₆₀ can induce ROS generation, oxidative stress and SOS response.

• nC₆₀ can increase cell membrane permeability and alter gene expression.

• Results provide evidence of nC₆₀ promoting antibiotic resistance dissemination.

The spread and development of antibiotic resistance globally have led to severe public health problems. It has been shown that some non-antibiotic substances can also promote the diffusion and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Nanofullerene (nC₆₀) is a type of nanomaterial widely used around the world, and some studies have discovered both the biological toxicity and environmental toxicity of nC₆₀. In this study, cellular and molecular biology techniques were employed to investigate the influences of nC₆₀ at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) on the conjugation of ARGs between the E. coli strains. Compared with the control group, nC₆₀ significantly increased the conjugation rates of ARGs by 1.32‒10.82 folds within the concentration range of 7.03‒1800 mg/L. This study further explored the mechanism of this phenomenon, finding that sub-MICs of nC₆₀ could induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), trigger SOS-response and oxidative stress, affect the expression of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) genes, increase membrane permeability, and thus promote the occurrence of conjugation. This research enriches our understanding of the environmental toxicity of nC₆₀, raises our risk awareness toward nC₆₀, and may promote the more rational employment of nC₆₀ materials.

Keywords Nanofullerene Sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations Antibiotic resistance genes Conjugation Molecular biological techniques

Corresponding Author(s): Caihong Zhang,Dan Li

Issue Date: 28 June 2020

Cite this article:

Qingkun Ji,Caihong Zhang,Dan Li. Influences and mechanisms of nanofullerene on the horizontal transfer of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance genes between E. coli strains[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2020, 14(6): 108.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1287-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2020/V14/I6/108

Fig.1 Fold changes between E. coli strains in conjugation frequency upon exposure to nC₆₀. nC₆₀ had significant influences on the conjugation of plasmid-encoded ARGs (ANOVA, P?<?0.05). Significant differences between nC₆₀ + TU or individual nC₆₀ treated groups and the control (0 mg/L of nC₆₀) were tested with ANOVA (LSD).

Fig.2 Exposure to nC₆₀ increases intra-ROS formation that significantly correlates with conjugation of plasmid-encoded ARGs. The intra-ROS levels in E. coli K12 (a) and E. coli S17 (b) induced by nC₆₀. Correlations between the conjugation rates (fold changes) and intra-ROS formation levels (fold changes) in E. coli K12 (c) and E. coli S17 (d). Significant differences between the non-exposed control group and nC₆₀-exposed groups were tested with ANOVA (LSD).

Fig.3 TEM pictures of nC₆₀ (a), E. coli in the test group (no nC₆₀ exposure) (b), E. coli afterwards exposure to nC₆₀ (450 μg/L) (c), and E. coli after exposure to nC₆₀ (1800 μg/L) (d). The red arrows refer to nC₆₀ and the green arrows refer to the pores formed after exposure to nC₆₀.

Fig.4 Impacts of nC₆₀ on the mRNA expression levels of genes involved in the OMPs, Global regulation, Oxidative stress, Mpf system, SOS-response, and Dtr system during conjugation. The radial axis depicts the log₂-fold absolute values of genes relative to the control group.

Fig.5 Impacts of nC₆₀ on the mRNA expression levels of genes involved in soxR (a), soxS (b), rpoS (c), oxyR (d), lexA (e), recA (f), umuD (g), ompF (h), ompC (i), ompA (j), trbA (k), korA (l), korB (m), traF (n), trbBp (o), traJ (p), and trfAp (q), during conjugation. Significant differences between the non-exposed control group and nC₆₀-exposed groups were tested with ANOVA (LSD).

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