title: The animal food supplement sepiolite promotes a direct horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance plasmids between bacterial species.
abstract: Animal fodder is routinely complemented with antibiotics together with other food supplements to improve growth. For instance, sepiolite is currently used as a dietary coadjuvant in animal feed, as it increases animal growth parameters and improves meat and derived final product quality. This type of food additive has so far been considered innocuous for the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. In this study, we demonstrate that sepiolite promotes the direct horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance plasmids between bacterial species. The conditions needed for plasmid transfer (sepiolite and friction forces) occur in the digestive tracts of farm animals, which routinely receive sepiolite as a food additive. Furthermore, this effect may be aggravated by the use of antibiotics supplied as growth promoters.
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jerónimo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Beltrán
authors.forename: Alexandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Rojas
authors.forename: Elva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yubero
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blázquez
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D005503:Food Additives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000187:drug effects*; D017633:Magnesium Silicates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005503:Food Additives; D017633:Magnesium Silicates; C001671:magnesium trisilicate