title: Survival in amoeba--a major selection pressure on the presence of bacterial copper and zinc resistance determinants? Identification of a "copper pathogenicity island".
abstract: The presence of metal resistance determinants in bacteria usually is attributed to geological or anthropogenic metal contamination in different environments or associated with the use of antimicrobial metals in human healthcare or in agriculture. While this is certainly true, we hypothesize that protozoan predation and macrophage killing are also responsible for selection of copper/zinc resistance genes in bacteria. In this review, we outline evidence supporting this hypothesis, as well as highlight the correlation between metal resistance and pathogenicity in bacteria. In addition, we introduce and characterize the "copper pathogenicity island" identified in Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains isolated from copper- and zinc-fed Danish pigs.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Freja L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Lüthje
authors.forename: Yanan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Sylvia Franke
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: McDevitt
authors.forename: Nataliya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lutay
authors.forename: Jon L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hobman
authors.forename: Karishma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asiani
authors.forename: Fernando C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Soncini
authors.forename: Nadezhda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: German
authors.forename: Siyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yong-Guan
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rensing
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D044404:Genomic Islands; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D050296:Microbial Viability; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000382:microbiology; D012475:Salmonella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D013552:Swine; D014774:Virulence; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc