Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Determinants of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Isolates Cultured from Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Environmental Samples
2025
Chioma Lilian Ozoaduche | Balázs Libisch | Daniel Itoro | Iyore Blessing Idemudia | Katalin Posta | Ferenc Olasz
Crude oil and its derivates are among the most important environmental pollutants, where <i>P. aeruginosa</i> strains producing AlkB1 and AlkB2 alkane hydroxylases are often involved in their biodegradation. The aim of this study was to analyze antibiotic resistance and virulence determinants of a <i>P. aeruginosa</i> isolate cultured from a hydrocarbon-contaminated soil sample from Ogoniland, Nigeria, and to compare its characteristics with <i>P. aeruginosa</i> isolates cultured worldwide from hydrocarbon-contaminated environments or from clinical samples. Using the ResFinder reference database, a <i>catB7</i> chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, an <i>ampC</i>-type PDC β-lactamase gene, and an OXA-50 type β-lactamase gene were identified in all <i>P. aeruginosa</i> strains analyzed in this study. In some of these <i>P. aeruginosa</i> strains, loss-of-function mutations were detected in the regulatory genes <i>mexR</i>, <i>nalC</i>, or <i>nalD</i>, predicting an efflux-mediated acquired antibiotic-resistance mechanism. Several <i>P. aeruginosa</i> sequence types that were associated with oil-contaminated environments have also been cultured from human clinical samples worldwide, including sequence types ST532, ST267, ST244, and ST1503. Our findings also indicate that environmental <i>P. aeruginosa</i> may serve as the source of human infections, warranting further studies from a One Health perspective about the application of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> for the in situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites.
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