{"title":"Hormetic Effect of Pyroligneous Acids on Conjugative Transfer of Plasmid-mediated Multi-antibiotic Resistance Genes within Bacterial Genus","authors":"Mengying Shao, Liuqingqing Liu, Bingjie Liu, Hao Zheng*, Wei Meng, Yifan Liu, Xiao Zhang, Xiaohan Ma, Cuizhu Sun, Xianxiang Luo, Fengmin Li and Baoshan Xing*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00056","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >Spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by conjugation poses great challenges to public health. Application of pyroligneous acids (PA) as soil amendments has been evidenced as a practical strategy to remediate pollution of ARGs in soils. However, little is known about PA effects on horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs by conjugation. This study investigated the effects of a woody waste-derived PA prepared at 450°C and its three distillation components (F1, F2, and F3) at different temperatures (98, 130, and 220°C) on conjugative transfer of plasmid RP4 within <i>Escherichia coli</i>. PA at relatively high amount (40–100 μL) in a 30-mL mating system inhibited conjugation by 74–85%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 ≈ F1, proving the hypothesis that PA amendments may mitigate soil ARG pollution by inhibiting HGT. The bacteriostasis caused by antibacterial components of PA, including acids, phenols, and alcohols, as well as its acidity (pH 2.81) contributed to the inhibited conjugation. However, a relatively low amount (10–20 μL) of PA in the same mating system enhanced ARG transfer by 26–47%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 > F1. The opposite effect at low amount is mainly attributed to the increased intracellular reactive oxygen species production, enhanced cell membrane permeability, increased extracellular polymeric substance contents, and reduced cell surface charge. Our findings highlight the hormesis (low-amount promotion and high-amount inhibition) of PA amendments on ARG conjugation and provide evidence for selecting an appropriate amount of PA amendment to control the dissemination of soil ARGs. Moreover, the promoted conjugation also triggers questions regarding the potential risks of soil amendments (e.g., PA) in the spread of ARGs via HGT.</p>","PeriodicalId":29801,"journal":{"name":"ACS Environmental Au","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.7000,"publicationDate":"2022-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00056","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACS Environmental Au","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00056","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
Spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by conjugation poses great challenges to public health. Application of pyroligneous acids (PA) as soil amendments has been evidenced as a practical strategy to remediate pollution of ARGs in soils. However, little is known about PA effects on horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs by conjugation. This study investigated the effects of a woody waste-derived PA prepared at 450°C and its three distillation components (F1, F2, and F3) at different temperatures (98, 130, and 220°C) on conjugative transfer of plasmid RP4 within Escherichia coli. PA at relatively high amount (40–100 μL) in a 30-mL mating system inhibited conjugation by 74–85%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 ≈ F1, proving the hypothesis that PA amendments may mitigate soil ARG pollution by inhibiting HGT. The bacteriostasis caused by antibacterial components of PA, including acids, phenols, and alcohols, as well as its acidity (pH 2.81) contributed to the inhibited conjugation. However, a relatively low amount (10–20 μL) of PA in the same mating system enhanced ARG transfer by 26–47%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 > F1. The opposite effect at low amount is mainly attributed to the increased intracellular reactive oxygen species production, enhanced cell membrane permeability, increased extracellular polymeric substance contents, and reduced cell surface charge. Our findings highlight the hormesis (low-amount promotion and high-amount inhibition) of PA amendments on ARG conjugation and provide evidence for selecting an appropriate amount of PA amendment to control the dissemination of soil ARGs. Moreover, the promoted conjugation also triggers questions regarding the potential risks of soil amendments (e.g., PA) in the spread of ARGs via HGT.
期刊介绍:
ACS Environmental Au is an open access journal which publishes experimental research and theoretical results in all aspects of environmental science and technology both pure and applied. Short letters comprehensive articles reviews and perspectives are welcome in the following areas:Alternative EnergyAnthropogenic Impacts on Atmosphere Soil or WaterBiogeochemical CyclingBiomass or Wastes as ResourcesContaminants in Aquatic and Terrestrial EnvironmentsEnvironmental Data ScienceEcotoxicology and Public HealthEnergy and ClimateEnvironmental Modeling Processes and Measurement Methods and TechnologiesEnvironmental Nanotechnology and BiotechnologyGreen ChemistryGreen Manufacturing and EngineeringRisk assessment Regulatory Frameworks and Life-Cycle AssessmentsTreatment and Resource Recovery and Waste Management