A degenerate PCR-based strategy as a means of identifying homologues of aminoglycoside and β-lactam resistance genes in the gut microbiota

dc.contributor.authorFouhy, Fiona
dc.contributor.authorRoss, R. Paul
dc.contributor.authorFitzgerald, Gerald F.
dc.contributor.authorStanton, Catherine
dc.contributor.authorCotter, Paul D.
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technologyen
dc.contributor.funderScience Foundation Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderTeagascen
dc.contributor.funderIrish Governmenten
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-04T15:05:54Z
dc.date.available2016-02-04T15:05:54Z
dc.date.issued2014-02-05
dc.description.abstractBackground: The potential for the human gut microbiota to serve as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes has been the subject of recent discussion. However, this has yet to be investigated using a rapid PCR-based approach. In light of this, here we aim to determine if degenerate PCR primers can detect aminoglycoside and β-lactam resistance genes in the gut microbiota of healthy adults, without the need for an initial culture-based screen for resistant isolates. In doing so, we would determine if the gut microbiota of healthy adults, lacking recent antibiotic exposure, is a reservoir for resistance genes. Results: The strategy employed resulted in the identification of numerous aminoglycoside (acetylation, adenylation and phosphorylation) and β-lactam (including bla OXA, bla TEM, bla SHV and bla CTX-M) resistance gene homologues. On the basis of homology, it would appear that these genes originated from different bacterial taxa, with members of the Enterobacteriaceae being a particularly rich source. The results demonstrate that, even in the absence of recent antibiotic exposure, the human gut microbiota is a considerable reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that the gut can be a significant source of aminoglycoside and β-lactam resistance genes, even in the absence of recent antibiotic exposure. The results also demonstrate that PCR-based approaches can be successfully applied to detect antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut microbiota, without the need to isolate resistant strains. This approach could also be used to rapidly screen other complex environments for target genes.en
dc.description.sponsorshipIrish Research Council (EMBARK scholarship for Fiona Fouhy); Teagasc (Walsh Fellowship for Fiona Fouhy); Irish Government National Development Plan (Science Foundation Ireland Investigator award 11/PI/1137)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid25
dc.identifier.citationFOUHY, F., ROSS, R. P., FITZGERALD, G. F., STANTON, C. & COTTER, P. D. 2014. A degenerate PCR-based strategy as a means of identifying homologues of aminoglycoside and β-lactam resistance genes in the gut microbiota. BMC Microbiology, 14:25, 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-14-25en
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/1471-2180-14-25
dc.identifier.endpage10en
dc.identifier.issn1471-2180
dc.identifier.journaltitleBMC Microbiologyen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/2253
dc.identifier.volume14en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd.en
dc.rights© Fouhy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by/​2.​0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.en
dc.rights.urihttp://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by/​2.​0en
dc.subjectAntibiotic resistanceen
dc.subjectAminoglycosidesen
dc.subjectβ-lactamen
dc.subjectGut microbiotaen
dc.subjectPCRen
dc.titleA degenerate PCR-based strategy as a means of identifying homologues of aminoglycoside and β-lactam resistance genes in the gut microbiotaen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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