Identification and localization of ²-lactam and tetracycline resistance genes, in clinical and environmental Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas hydrophila strains

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance, a global public health problem, is facilitated by the selective pressure of antimicrobial use in clinical infections and other activities, as agriculture and animal feeding. The main way of resistance spread is the horizontal gene transfer between bacterial cells, by mobile genetic elements. Objective. To identify and characterize the genetic environment and the mobilization means of ²-lactam and tetracycline resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas hydrophila from clinical and environmental sources. Material and Methods. The study begins with 164 clinical and 85 environmental strains, which will be screened for ²-lactam and tetracycline phenotypic resistance, and for the presence of the respective resistance genes by PCR and sequencing. After their identification, the resistance genes will be investigated in regard to their plasmidial or chromosomal location, through pulsed field electrophoresis followed by hybridization, and the genetic environment will be searched by integron and transposon mapping by PCR. Expected Results. This study intends to determine the phenotypic ²-lactam and tetracycline resistance characteristics of strains, and also to define the identification and localization of the related antimicrobial resistance genes. (AU)