Abstract
The oyster is one of the most abundantly harvested shellfish in the world. To explore the impact of salinity on antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and the microbial community associated with farmed oysters, oysters were taken from high-, medium-, and low-salinity zones (labeled HS, MS, and LS, respectively) in Qinzhou Bay of Beibu Gulf, China. ARB were tested with the Kirby–Bauer method. Species of ARB were confirmed by 16 S rDNA analysis. Microbial communities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. The results indicate that HS-derived ARB (>60%) resisted β-lactams and aminoglycosides and that LS-derived strains resisted macrolide and tetracyclines. All strains resisted 4 or more antibiotics. A total of 542 operational taxonomic units were detected in the samples, with Shewanella, Vibrio, and Endozoicomonas being the dominant genera (>80%), although distributed differently among the different salinity samples. The oyster microbial richness ranked as MS > LS > HS. This study provides an important reference for future efforts to explain factors or mechanisms underlying correlations between ARB, the microbiome, and salinity and thus the potential health of oysters in this region.
Highlights
Crassostrea rivularis is one of the important oysters in China
We investigated the microbial community of Crassostrea rivularis oysters farmed in different salinity zones and determined the antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) sampled from those oysters
The results suggest that salinity has an important influence on the antibiotic resistance of oyster-resident bacteria
Summary
Crassostrea rivularis is one of the important oysters in China. It is a marine invertebrate of the family Ostreidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia) and is mainly distributed in the estuaries and coastal zones of South China (Wang et al, 2014). Oysters are well known as filter feeders and, have a significant role in the marine environment, with a close relationship to the aquatic environment. Oysters absorb antibiotics, microplastics, heavy metals, and other pollutants from the water and, have often been used as indicators of environmental pollution (Allen et al, 2010). Oysters contain many microbes throughout their bodies, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses, and small protists. Dynamic changes in the microbial composition and structure in oysters result in invasion by pathogenic
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