Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous in freshwater environments, but their role in aquatic resistome remains unclear. In this work, we performed whole genome sequencing on 43 cyanobacterial strains isolated from Portuguese fresh/wastewaters. From 43 available non-axenic unicyanoabacterial cultures (containi...

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Main Authors: Duarte Balata, Tânia Rosado, Francisco Pina-Martins, Vera Manageiro, Carina Menezes, Eugénia Ferreira, Octávio S. Paulo, Manuela Caniça, Elsa Dias
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Microorganisms
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1252
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author Duarte Balata
Tânia Rosado
Francisco Pina-Martins
Vera Manageiro
Carina Menezes
Eugénia Ferreira
Octávio S. Paulo
Manuela Caniça
Elsa Dias
author_facet Duarte Balata
Tânia Rosado
Francisco Pina-Martins
Vera Manageiro
Carina Menezes
Eugénia Ferreira
Octávio S. Paulo
Manuela Caniça
Elsa Dias
author_sort Duarte Balata
collection DOAJ
description Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous in freshwater environments, but their role in aquatic resistome remains unclear. In this work, we performed whole genome sequencing on 43 cyanobacterial strains isolated from Portuguese fresh/wastewaters. From 43 available non-axenic unicyanoabacterial cultures (containing only one cyanobacterial strain and their co-occurring bacteria), it was possible to recover 41 cyanobacterial genomes from the genomic assemblies using a genome binning software, 26 of which were classified as high-quality based on completeness, contamination, N50 and contig number thresholds. By using the comprehensive antibiotic resistance database (CARD) on the assembled samples, we detected four antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) variants, conferring resistance in pathogenic bacteria to tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones (<i>adeF</i>-type) and macrolides (<i>ermF</i>-type, <i>mefC</i>-type and <i>mphG</i>-type). Among these, <i>adeF</i>-type was the most prevalent gene, found across 11 cyanobacterial genomes from the Nostocales order. <i>Planktothrix</i> presented the highest variety of close ARG matches, with hits for the macrolide resistance genes <i>ermF</i>-type, <i>mefC</i>-type and <i>mphG-</i>type. An analysis of the genomic assemblies also revealed an additional 12 ARGs in bacteria from the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, present in the cyanobacterial cultures, foreseeing the horizontal gene transfer of ARGs with cyanobacteria. Additionally, more than 200 partial ARGs were detected on each recovered cyanobacterial genome, allowing for future studies of antibiotic resistance genotype/phenotype in cyanobacteria. These findings highlight the importance of further efforts to understand the role of cyanobacteria on the aquatic resistome from a One Health perspective.
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spelling doaj-art-309fc4a0775b4e67a1f102619fd66f552025-08-20T03:16:34ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-05-01136125210.3390/microorganisms13061252Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome SequencingDuarte Balata0Tânia Rosado1Francisco Pina-Martins2Vera Manageiro3Carina Menezes4Eugénia Ferreira5Octávio S. Paulo6Manuela Caniça7Elsa Dias8Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C) & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalLaboratory of Biology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalCentre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C) & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalNational Reference Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalLaboratory of Biology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalNational Reference Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalCentre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C) & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalNational Reference Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalLaboratory of Biology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), 1649-016 Lisbon, PortugalCyanobacteria are ubiquitous in freshwater environments, but their role in aquatic resistome remains unclear. In this work, we performed whole genome sequencing on 43 cyanobacterial strains isolated from Portuguese fresh/wastewaters. From 43 available non-axenic unicyanoabacterial cultures (containing only one cyanobacterial strain and their co-occurring bacteria), it was possible to recover 41 cyanobacterial genomes from the genomic assemblies using a genome binning software, 26 of which were classified as high-quality based on completeness, contamination, N50 and contig number thresholds. By using the comprehensive antibiotic resistance database (CARD) on the assembled samples, we detected four antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) variants, conferring resistance in pathogenic bacteria to tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones (<i>adeF</i>-type) and macrolides (<i>ermF</i>-type, <i>mefC</i>-type and <i>mphG</i>-type). Among these, <i>adeF</i>-type was the most prevalent gene, found across 11 cyanobacterial genomes from the Nostocales order. <i>Planktothrix</i> presented the highest variety of close ARG matches, with hits for the macrolide resistance genes <i>ermF</i>-type, <i>mefC</i>-type and <i>mphG-</i>type. An analysis of the genomic assemblies also revealed an additional 12 ARGs in bacteria from the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, present in the cyanobacterial cultures, foreseeing the horizontal gene transfer of ARGs with cyanobacteria. Additionally, more than 200 partial ARGs were detected on each recovered cyanobacterial genome, allowing for future studies of antibiotic resistance genotype/phenotype in cyanobacteria. These findings highlight the importance of further efforts to understand the role of cyanobacteria on the aquatic resistome from a One Health perspective.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1252antibiotic resistanceaquatic resistomefreshwater bacteriacyanobacteriagenomebioinformatics pipeline
spellingShingle Duarte Balata
Tânia Rosado
Francisco Pina-Martins
Vera Manageiro
Carina Menezes
Eugénia Ferreira
Octávio S. Paulo
Manuela Caniça
Elsa Dias
Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
Microorganisms
antibiotic resistance
aquatic resistome
freshwater bacteria
cyanobacteria
genome
bioinformatics pipeline
title Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
title_full Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
title_fullStr Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
title_full_unstemmed Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
title_short Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains by Whole Genome Sequencing
title_sort prediction of antibiotic resistance genes in cyanobacterial strains by whole genome sequencing
topic antibiotic resistance
aquatic resistome
freshwater bacteria
cyanobacteria
genome
bioinformatics pipeline
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1252
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