Project description:Microarray was used to analyze azole resistance of Candida glabrata oropharyngeal isolates from 7 hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients receiving fluconazole prophylaxis. Transcriptional profiling of the sequential-paired clinical isolates by microarray revealed 19 genes upregulated in the majority of resistant isolates compared to their paired-susceptible isolates. All seven resistant isolates had greater than two fold upregulation of CgPDR1, a master transcriptional regulator of PDR network, and all 7 resistant isolates showed upregulation of known CgPDR1-target genes. The altered transcriptome can be explained in part by the observation that all 7 resistant isolates had acquired a single nonsynonymous mutation in their CgPDR1 ORF. Four mutations occurred in the regulatory domain (L280P, L344S, G348A, S391L) and one in the activation domain (G943S) while two mutations (N764I, R772I) occurred in an undefined region. Association of azole resistance and the CgPDR1 mutations was investigated in the same genetic background by introducing the CgPDR1 sequences from one sensitive and five resistant isolates into a laboratory azole-sensitive strain (cgpdr1) via integrative transformation. The cgpdr1 strain was restored to wild-type fluconazole susceptibility when transformed with CgPDR1 from the susceptible isolate but became resistant when transformed with CgPDR1 from the resistant isolates. However, despite the identical genetic background, upregulation of CgPDR1 and CgPDR1-target genes varied between the 5 transformants, independent of the domain locations in which the mutations occurred. In sum, gain-of-function mutations in CgPDR1 not only contributed to the clinical azole resistance but different mutations had varying degrees of impact on the CgPDR1-target genes.
Project description:Microarray was used to analyze azole resistance of Candida glabrata oropharyngeal isolates from 7 hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients receiving fluconazole prophylaxis. Transcriptional profiling of the sequential-paired clinical isolates by microarray revealed 19 genes upregulated in the majority of resistant isolates compared to their paired-susceptible isolates. All seven resistant isolates had greater than two fold upregulation of CgPDR1, a master transcriptional regulator of PDR network, and all 7 resistant isolates showed upregulation of known CgPDR1-target genes. The altered transcriptome can be explained in part by the observation that all 7 resistant isolates had acquired a single nonsynonymous mutation in their CgPDR1 ORF. Four mutations occurred in the regulatory domain (L280P, L344S, G348A, S391L) and one in the activation domain (G943S) while two mutations (N764I, R772I) occurred in an undefined region. Association of azole resistance and the CgPDR1 mutations was investigated in the same genetic background by introducing the CgPDR1 sequences from one sensitive and five resistant isolates into a laboratory azole-sensitive strain (cgpdr1) via integrative transformation. The cgpdr1 strain was restored to wild-type fluconazole susceptibility when transformed with CgPDR1 from the susceptible isolate but became resistant when transformed with CgPDR1 from the resistant isolates. However, despite the identical genetic background, upregulation of CgPDR1 and CgPDR1-target genes varied between the 5 transformants, independent of the domain locations in which the mutations occurred. In sum, gain-of-function mutations in CgPDR1 not only contributed to the clinical azole resistance but different mutations had varying degrees of impact on the CgPDR1-target genes. Seven pairs of oropharyngeal sequential isolates were chosen for study because each pair came from an individual hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient receiving fluconazole. Seven groups consisted of 5 biological replicates in which a sensitive sample was paired with a resistant sample. Each group included 1 to 2 reciprocally labeled samples.
Project description:Antimicrobials used in salmon aquaculture pass into the marine environment. This could have negative impacts on marine environmental biodiversity, and on terrestrial animal and human health as a result of selection for bacteria containing antimicrobial resistance genes. We therefore measured the numbers of culturable bacteria and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in marine sediments in the Calbuco Archipelago, Chile, over 12-month period at a salmon aquaculture site approximately 20 m from a salmon farm and at a control site 8 km distant without observable aquaculture activities. Three antimicrobials extensively used in Chilean salmon aquaculture (oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, and florfenicol) were studied. Although none of these antimicrobials was detected in sediments from either site, traces of flumequine, a fluoroquinolone antimicrobial also widely used in Chile, were present in sediments from both sites during this period. There were significant increases in bacterial numbers and antimicrobial-resistant fractions to oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, and florfenicol in sediments from the aquaculture site compared to those from the control site. Interestingly, there were similar numbers of presumably plasmid-mediated resistance genes for oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid and florfenicol in unselected marine bacteria isolated from both aquaculture and control sites. These preliminary findings in one location may suggest that the current use of large amounts of antimicrobials in Chilean aquaculture has the potential to select for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in marine sediments.
Project description:The biodegradable polymer poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a promising carbon source for biological mitigation of nitrogen pollution, a significant problem in aquaculture that physical and chemical methods have not provided a comprehensive solution. Here we investigated the impact of PHB on the zero-water-change largemouth bass culture by 30- and 40-day experiments. PHB loaded into the filter circulation pump at 4g L-1, optimum value determined by the first experiment, significantly reduced the levels of nitrate by 99.65%, nitrite by 95.96%, and total nitrogen by 85.22% compared to the control without PHB. PHB also significantly increased denitrifying bacteria (e.g., Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria) and expression of denitrification genes (e.g., nirK and nirS) in the microbial community, improving growth and health parameters of largemouth bass. While the impact may vary in other culture systems, PHB thus demonstrated its remarkable utility in aquaculture, highlighting ecological assessment and application to larger aquaculture operations as future considerations.