Interference with Bacterial Conjugation and Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics: Bridging a Gap.
Micaela Guidotti-Takeuchi, Roberta Torres de Melo, Lígia Nunes de Morais Ribeiro, Carolyne Ferreira Dumont, Rosanne Aparecida Capanema Ribeiro, Bárbara de Araújo Brum, Tanaje Luiz Izidio Ferreira de Amorim Junior, Daise Aparecida Rossi
Author Information
Micaela Guidotti-Takeuchi: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil. ORCID
Roberta Torres de Melo: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil. ORCID
Lígia Nunes de Morais Ribeiro: Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38405-320, MG, Brazil. ORCID
Carolyne Ferreira Dumont: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil.
Rosanne Aparecida Capanema Ribeiro: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil.
Bárbara de Araújo Brum: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil.
Tanaje Luiz Izidio Ferreira de Amorim Junior: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil.
Daise Aparecida Rossi: Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38402-018, MG, Brazil. ORCID
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in food matrices has been investigated under conditions that favor gene exchange. However, the major challenge lies in determining the specific conditions pertaining to the adapted microbial pairs associated with the food matrix. HGT is primarily responsible for enhancing the microbial repertoire for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance and is a major target for controlling pathogens of public health concern in food ecosystems. In this study, we investigated Heidelberg (SH) and (EC) regarding gene exchange under conditions mimicking the industrial environment, with the coproducts whey (SL) and chicken juice (CJ). The Heidelberg strain was characterized by antibiotic susceptibility standards and PCR to detect the gene. A concentration of 0.39 mg/mL was determined to evaluate the anti-conjugation activity of nanostructured lipid nanocarriers (NLCs) of essential oils to mitigate β-lactam resistance gene transfer. The results showed that the addition of these coproducts promoted an increase of more than 3.5 (whey) and 2.5 (chicken juice) orders of magnitude in the conjugation process ( < 0.01), and NLCs of sage essential oil significantly reduced the conjugation frequency (CF) by 74.90, 90.6, and 124.4 times when compared to the transfers in the absence of coproducts and the presence of SL and CJ, respectively. For NLCs from olibanum essential oil, the decrease was 4.46-fold for conjugations without inhibitors and 3.12- and 11.3-fold in the presence of SL and CJ. NLCs associated with sage and olibanum essential oils effectively control the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and are a promising alternative for use at industrial levels.
