title: Heavy metal resistance and virulence profile in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Brazilian soils.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, which can have several virulence factors that confer on it the ability to cause severe, acute and chronic infections. Thus, the simultaneous occurrence of resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals associated with the presence of virulence genes is a potential threat to human health and environmental balance. This study aimed to investigate the resistance profile to heavy metals and the correlation of this phenotype of resistance to antimicrobials and to investigate the pathogenic potential of 46 P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from the soil of five Brazilian regions. The bacteria were evaluating for antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance, as well as the presence of plasmids and virulence genes. The isolates showed resistance to four different antibiotics and the majority (n = 44) had resistance to aztreonam or ticarcillin, furthermore, 32 isolates showed concomitant resistance to both of these antibiotics. A high prevalence of virulence genes was found, which highlights the pathogenic potential of the studied environmental isolates. Moreover, a high frequency of heavy metal resistance genes was also detected, however, the phenotypic results indicated that other genes and/or mechanisms should be related to heavy metal resistance.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto - Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pitondo-Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto - Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: Guilherme Bartolomeu
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto - Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eliana Guedes
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Stehling
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D001398:Aztreonam / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000633:toxicity*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010957:Plasmids / Q000032:analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013982:Ticarcillin / Q000378:metabolism; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D037521:Virulence Factors; D013982:Ticarcillin; D001398:Aztreonam
keywords: P. aeruginosa; antimicrobials; heavy metals; resistance; soil; virulence