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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1504659
This article is part of the Research Topic Antimicrobial Resistance: Causes, Mechanisms and Mitigation Strategies for Gut Dysbiosis View all articles

Effect of conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes mediated by plasmids on the microecology of different intestinal segments

Provisionally accepted
Chengshi Ding Chengshi Ding 1Li Yan Li Yan 2Kai Zhang Kai Zhang 3Xiangxiang Liu Xiangxiang Liu 1Ziyu Liu Ziyu Liu 1Shaowei Hou Shaowei Hou 1Hongfei Wei Hongfei Wei 1Zhiping Wu Zhiping Wu 1Jing Ma Jing Ma 1*
  • 1 Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, China
  • 2 General Practice, Tianjin Fifth Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
  • 3 Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, Henan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by intestinal microbes may bring risks to intestinal microecology and human health. However, the regulation and mechanism of ARG location and transfer in different intestinal segments remain unclear. Here, we showed that the conjugative transfer of ARGs mediated by plasmids occurred in different intestinal segments of mice. The small intestine was the main site for the location of ARG donor bacteria and ARGs. The intestinal microbiota richness of the small intestine (duodenum and jejunum) and the large intestine (cecum, colon, and rectum) increased, and the ileum microbiota richness decreased under the action of donor bacteria. The differences in the number of bacteria in the small intestine and the large intestine, as well as the relative richness of Firmicutes from the small intestine to the large intestine, decreased. By contrast, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased. At the phylum level, antibiotics could increase the relative abundance of bacteria in the small intestine and increase the proportion of bacteria except for the dominant bacteria.The intake of resistant plasmids alleviated the impact of antibiotics on intestinal microbiota, particularly increasing the proportion of Proteobacteria and Bacteroides, which were presumed to be susceptible to ARGs.

    Keywords: Antibiotics resistance genes, conjugative transfer, different intestinal segments, Plasmids, Microecology

    Received: 01 Oct 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ding, Yan, Zhang, Liu, Liu, Hou, Wei, Wu and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jing Ma, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.