title: Biomonitoring marine habitats in reference to antibiotic resistant bacteria and ampicillin resistance determinants from oviductal fluid of the nesting green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas.
abstract: During the egg-laying process, oviductal fluid was collected using a non-invasive procedure from the cloacal vent of the green turtles. Forty-two independent isolates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from 11 genera were obtained from 20 turtles during nesting. The dominant isolate was Citrobacter (52.4%), followed by Pseudomonas, Proteus, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Edwardsiella, Morganella, Providencia and Arcomobacter. Most of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Ampicillin-resistant isolates showed variations in their resistance for the following classes of β-lactamases: extended-spectrum β-lactamases (EBSLs), AmpC type β-lactamases C (AmpC), and screen-positive β-lactamase. None of the isolates produced metallo β-lactamase. Some ampicillin-resistant genes were detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) only. Inhibitor based test (IBT) categorized some isolates as AmpC β-lactamase producers. β-Lactamase genes were detected from a few strains. The sequencing of those genes revealed the presence of cephamycinase (CMY) and AmpC β-lactamases. The oviductal fluid was used in this study as a source of bacterial antibiotic-resistant determinants for biomonitoring marine turtles exposed to contaminated effluents. This data can be of value in understanding the decline of this endangered species as a result of exposure to marine pollution which is threatening their survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, PC 123, Al-Khodh, Muscat, Oman. snbahry@squedu.om
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Al-Bahry
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al-Zadjali
authors.forename: I Y
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Mahmoud
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Elshafie
mesh_terms: D000668:Ampicillin Resistance; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010057:Oviducts / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014426:Turtles / Q000382:microbiology*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; C102789:cephamycinase bla(CMY-1); D001618:beta-Lactamases