Comprehensive characterization and resistome analysis of Antarctic Pseudomonas migulae strain CAS19

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2024-11, Vol.40 (11), p.347, Article 347
• Main Authors: Otur, Çiğdem, Okay, Sezer, Konuksever, Ömer, Duyar, Oğuzhan, Kaya, Yılmaz, Kurt-Kızıldoğan, Aslıhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Antarctic Regions; Anthropogenic factors; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Applied Microbiology; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Base Composition; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cadmium; Chromium; Copper; Diesel fuels; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - genetics; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - genetics; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Erythromycin; Genome, Bacterial; Genomic analysis; Heavy metals; Indoleacetic acid; Lakes - microbiology; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Life Sciences; Low temperature resistance; Metals, Heavy - pharmacology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Multilocus Sequence Typing; Nickel; Nucleotide sequence; Penicillin; Phylogeny; Proteolysis; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas - classification; Pseudomonas - drug effects; Pseudomonas - genetics; Pseudomonas - metabolism; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; RpoB protein; rRNA 16S; Sequence analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Siderophores - metabolism; Strain analysis; Temperature; Trimethoprim; Vancomycin; Water analysis; Water sampling; Zinc
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-024-04153-1

Although traditionally considered pristine, Antarctica faces an increasing threat of antibiotic resistance due to human intervention. Here, we obtained a bacterial isolate, the CAS19 strain, from a lake water sample from Ardley Island, Antarctica and characterized it comprehensively. The CAS19 was a psychrotrophic and neutrophilic/alkalitolerant bacterium thriving at temperatures from 15 to 33 °C and pH levels from 6.0 to 9.0. Besides the production of siderophore and indole acetic acid, it also exhibited proteolytic and lipolytic activities. It was identified as Pseudomonas migulae by multilocus ( 16S rRNA , gyrB , rpoB and rpoD ) sequence analysis, and its genome was 6.5 Mbps in length, had 59% GC content, and contained 5,821 coding sequences. The CAS19 was resistant to several antibiotics, including trimethoprim, penicillin, vancomycin, and erythromycin, confirmed by RT-qPCR analysis, with a notable increase in dfr (63-fold), bla (461-fold), vanW (31.7-fold) and macA (24.7-fold) expressions upon antibiotic exposure. Additionally, CAS19 exhibited resistance to heavy metals with an order of Cr(III) = Cu(II) > Ni(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II), and showed diesel fuel (5%) degradation capacity. Cold-related genes cspA _2 and cspD were overexpressed at 4 and 15 °C, consistent with the cold adaptation mechanism. In conclusion, for the first time an Antarctic P. migulae isolate has been characterized in detail, uncovering a rich resistome repertoir that might be associated with anthropogenic disturbances. Graphical Abstract