Characterization of metal and antibiotic resistance in a bacterial population isolated from a Copper mining industry

Abstract

The emergence of multiple metal/antibiotic resistance among bacterial populations poses a potential threat to human health. The co-existence of metal/antibiotic resistance in bacterial strains suggests the role of metals as a factor which can also contribute to such a phenomenon. The objective of this study is to characterize multiple metal/antibiotic resistant bacteria from the soil and water samples of a copper mining industry. A total of 24 strains (12 Gram-positive and 12 Gram-negative bacteria) were identified by the 16s rRNA gene sequencing. Out of the 24 bacterial isolates, 9 isolates show multiple metal and antibiotics resistance. These strains were screened to find the presence of an endogenous plasmid DNA. One strain, Bacillus sp. (PRS3) was found to have a plasmid DNA of 4.2 kb that could replicate in both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Thus, it can be predicted that metal pollution results in selective pressure that leads to the development of multiple metal/antibiotic resistance among bacterial populations, probably through horizontal gene transfer.