Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Susceptibility of Non-Cholera Vibrio Isolated from Marine Sponges and Sea Urchins: Could They Pose a Potential Risk to Public Health?

Wellington Felipe Costa,Marcia Giambiagi-Demarval,Marinella Silva Laport

doi:10.3390/antibiotics10121561

Wellington Felipe Costa, Marcia Giambiagi-Demarval + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10121561

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Abstract

Vibrio is an important human and animal pathogen that can carry clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes and is present in different aquatic environments. However, there is a knowledge gap between antibiotic and heavy metal resistance and virulence potential when it is part of the microbiota from marine invertebrates. Here, we aimed to evaluate these characteristics and the occurrence of mobile genetic elements. Of 25 non-cholera Vibrio spp. from marine sponges and sea urchins collected at the coastlines of Brazil and France analyzed in this study, 16 (64%) were non-susceptible to antibiotics, and two (8%) were multidrug-resistant. Beta-lactam resistance (blaSHV) and virulence (vhh) genes were detected in sponge-associated isolates. The resistance gene for copper and silver (cusB) was detected in one sea urchin isolate. Plasmids were found in 11 (44%) of the isolates. This new information allows a better comprehension of antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments, since those invertebrates host resistant Vibrio spp. Thus, Vibrio associated with marine animals may pose a potential risk to public health due to carrying these antibiotic-resistant genes.

Highlights

The genus Vibrio is a group of gram-negative bacilli possessing a curved-rod shape
We aimed to investigate if Vibrio associated with marine sponges and sea urchins could pose a potential risk to public health by characterizing the Vibrio spp. isolates phenotypically and genotypically in terms of antibiotic resistance, as well as the occurrence of heavy metal resistance genes, virulence genes and mobile genetic elements
Of the 25 Vibrio spp. strains analyzed in this study, 19 were isolated from the Brazilian marine sponges Darwinella spp., Haliclona sp. and Plakina cyanorosea [13], and six from the gastrointestinal tract of the French sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus [10]

Summary

Introduction

The genus Vibrio is a group of gram-negative bacilli possessing a curved-rod shape. They are ubiquitously distributed in aquatic environments, such as coastal seawater, sediments and estuaries, and are associated with marine invertebrate organisms [1]. Some species can be pathogenic for humans and aquatic animals (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio harveyi) [1,2]. Vibrio can cause mild to severe gastroenteritis, extra-gastrointestinal infections and sepsis, which can be fatal [2]. The bacteria are generally susceptible to antibiotics used in medical and veterinary practice. An increased number of resistant strains, non-cholera Vibrio, have been observed around the world [3]

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