title: Arsenic resistance and prevalence of arsenic resistance genes in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from retail meats.
abstract: Studies that investigate arsenic resistance in the foodborne bacterium Campylobacter are limited. A total of 552 Campylobacter isolates (281 Campylobacter jejuni and 271 Campylobacter coli) isolated from retail meat samples were subjected to arsenic resistance profiling using the following arsenic compounds: arsanilic acid (4-2,048 μg/mL), roxarsone (4-2048 μg/mL), arsenate (16-8,192 μg/mL) and arsenite (4-2,048 μg/mL). A total of 223 of these isolates (114 Campylobacter jejuni and 109 Campylobacter coli) were further analyzed for the presence of five arsenic resistance genes (arsP, arsR, arsC, acr3, and arsB) by PCR. Most of the 552 Campylobacter isolates were able to survive at higher concentrations of arsanilic acid (512-2,048 μg/mL), roxarsone (512-2,048 μg/mL), and arsenate (128-1,024 μg/mL), but at lower concentrations for arsenite (4-16 μg/mL). Ninety seven percent of the isolates tested by PCR showed the presence of arsP and arsR genes. While 95% of the Campylobacter coli isolates contained a larger arsenic resistance operon that has all of the four genes (arsP, arsR, arsC and acr3), 85% of the Campylobacter jejuni isolates carried the short operon (arsP, and arsR). The presence of arsC and acr3 did not significantly increase arsenic resistance with the exception of conferring resistance to higher concentrations of arsenate to some Campylobacter isolates. arsB was prevalent in 98% of the tested Campylobacter jejuni isolates, regardless of the presence or absence of arsC and acr3, but was completely absent in Campylobacter coli. To our knowledge, this is the first study to determine arsenic resistance and the prevalence of arsenic resistance genes in such a large number of Campylobacter isolates.
authors: Department of Biological Science, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA. aneesa-noormohamed@utulsa.edu
authors: Aneesa
authors: A
authors: Noormohamed
authors: Mohamed K
authors: MK
authors: Fakhr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017000:Campylobacter coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002417:Cattle; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009876:Operon; D011200:Poultry; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals; D001151:Arsenic
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 Aug;75(15):5064-73
references: 19502436
references: Poult Sci. 2002 Mar;81(3):356-64
references: 11902412
references: Environ Sci Technol. 2003 Apr 15;37(8):1509-14
references: 12731831
references: Poult Sci. 1975 Sep;54(5):1544-9
references: 1187515
references: PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58894
references: 23554953
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jan;112(1):18-21
references: 14698925
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Oct;71(10):6206-15
references: 16204540
references: J Bacteriol. 1998 Apr;180(7):1655-61
references: 9537360
references: Microbiology (Reading). 1998 Oct;144 ( Pt 10):2705-2729
references: 9802012
references: Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2013 May;58(3):253-60
references: 23132657
references: Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2012 Jul;9(7):617-24
references: 22545960
references: Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2013 Apr;10(4):382-91
references: 23510494
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 May;66(5):1826-33
references: 10788346
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2007 May;115(5):663-70
references: 17520050
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Apr;72(4):3069-71
references: 16598022
references: Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2011 Sep;6(3):264-70
references: 21652273
references: Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 May 21;10(5):2058-68
references: 23698698
references: Plasmid. 1983 Mar;9(2):126-37
references: 6602348
references: Plasmid. 2002 May;47(3):234-40
references: 12151239