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Microorganisms
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Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments
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Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 5277

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Graţiela Grădişteanu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB) Life, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
2. Faculty of Biology, Department of Microbiology and Botany, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: microbial biofilms; host–pathogen interaction; microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a major threat to human and animal health. Recent advances in the field of molecular biology have shed light on the vast diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the complexity of their transfer, and the wide array of omnipresent factors contributing to AMR.

Being one of the most popular pharmaceuticals used in human medicine, farming, and veterinary care, antibiotics are also frequent contaminants in wastewater, municipal sewage, and in the influents and effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). WWTPs are key reservoirs of both antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and represent hotspots for horizontal gene transfer via mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, transposons, integrins, insertion sequences and resistance islands favouring the development and dissemination of ARGs between bacteria. Surveillance of WWTPs is critical for the detection of ARB and for guiding investment in measures to mitigate environmental ARB dispersion and the risk it poses to global public health.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, short reports, and comments on the Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments. Possible themes include, but are not limited to: existing challenges in AMR control via wastewater treatment, state-of-the-art ARB identification technologies, ARG-pathogen host relationship, risk modelling, standardised protocols for AMR testing, virulence factors in ARB, biocide resistance, the contribution of manure and the aquatic environment to the antibiotic resistance reservoir.

Dr. Graţiela Grădişteanu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 6243 KiB  
Article
Tracing Acinetobacter baumannii’s Journey from Hospitals to Aquatic Ecosystems
by Irina Gheorghe-Barbu, Rares-Ionut Dragomir, Gratiela Gradisteanu Pircalabioru, Marius Surleac, Iulia Adelina Dinu, Madalina Diana Gaboreanu and Ilda Czobor Barbu
Microorganisms 2024, 12(8), 1703; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12081703 - 18 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1221
Abstract
Background: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii in aquatic environments and fish microbiota by integrating culture-dependent methods, 16S metagenomics, and antibiotic resistance profiling. Methods: A total of 83 A. baumannii isolates were recovered using culture-dependent methods from intra-hospital infections (IHI) [...] Read more.
Background: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii in aquatic environments and fish microbiota by integrating culture-dependent methods, 16S metagenomics, and antibiotic resistance profiling. Methods: A total of 83 A. baumannii isolates were recovered using culture-dependent methods from intra-hospital infections (IHI) and wastewater (WW) and surface water (SW) samples from two southern Romanian cities in August 2022. The antibiotic susceptibility was screened using disc diffusion, microdilution, PCR, and Whole Genome Sequencing assays. Results: The highest microbial load in the analyzed samples was found in Glina, Bucharest, for both WW and SW samples across all investigated phenotypes. For Bucharest isolates, the resistance levels corresponded to fluoroquinolones > aminoglycosides > β-lactam antibiotics. In contrast, A. baumannii from upstream SW samples in Târgoviște showed the highest resistance to aminoglycosides. The blaOXA-23 gene was frequently detected in IHI, WW, and SW isolates in Bucharest, but was absent in Târgoviște. Molecular phylogeny revealed the presence of ST10 in Târgoviște isolates and ST2 in Bucharest isolates, while other minor STs were not specifically correlated with a sampling point. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, significant differences in microbial populations between the two locations was identified. The low abundance of Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria in both locations suggests environmental pressures or contamination events. Conclusions: These findings indicate significant fecal contamination and potential public health risks, emphasizing the need for improved water quality monitoring and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments)
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15 pages, 2202 KiB  
Article
Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus sp. and Enterococcus sp. in Municipal and Hospital Wastewater: A Longitudinal Study
by Maria Elena Velazquez-Meza, Miguel Galarde-López, Patricia Cornejo-Juárez, Berta Alicia Carrillo-Quiroz, Consuelo Velázquez-Acosta, Miriam Bobadilla-del-Valle, Alfredo Ponce-de-León and Celia Mercedes Alpuche-Aranda
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040645 - 24 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1881
Abstract
The objective of the study was to detect multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus sp. and Enterococcus sp. isolates in municipal and hospital wastewater and to determine their elimination or persistence after wastewater treatment. Between August 2021 and September 2022, raw and treated wastewater samples were collected [...] Read more.
The objective of the study was to detect multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus sp. and Enterococcus sp. isolates in municipal and hospital wastewater and to determine their elimination or persistence after wastewater treatment. Between August 2021 and September 2022, raw and treated wastewater samples were collected at two hospital and two community wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In each season of the year, two treated and two raw wastewater samples were collected in duplicate at each of the WWTPs studied. Screening and presumptive identification of staphylococci and enterococci was performed using chromoagars, and identification was performed with the Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS®). Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed using VITEK 2® automated system. There were 56 wastewater samples obtained during the study period. A total of 182 Staphylococcus sp. and 248 Enterococcus sp. were identified. The highest frequency of Staphylococcus sp. isolation was in spring and summer (n = 129, 70.8%), and for Enterococcus sp. it was in autumn and winter (n = 143, 57.7%). Sixteen isolates of Staphylococcus sp. and sixty-three of Enterococcus sp. persisted during WWTP treatments. Thirteen species of staphylococci and seven species of enterococci were identified. Thirty-one isolates of Staphylococcus sp. and ninety-four of Enterococcus sp. were multidrug-resistant. Resistance to vancomycin (1.1%), linezolid (2.7%), and daptomycin (8.2%/10.9%%), and a lower susceptibility to tigecycline (2.7%), was observed. This study evidences the presence of Staphylococcus sp. and Enterococcus sp. resistant to antibiotics of last choice of clinical treatment, in community and hospital wastewater and their ability to survive WWTP treatment systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments)
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24 pages, 5962 KiB  
Article
Application of QSAR Approach to Assess the Effects of Organic Pollutants on Bacterial Virulence Factors
by Roukaya Al Haj Ishak Al Ali, Leslie Mondamert, Jean-Marc Berjeaud, Joelle Jandry, Alexandre Crépin and Jérôme Labanowski
Microorganisms 2023, 11(6), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11061375 - 24 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1381
Abstract
The release of a wide variety of persistent chemical contaminants into wastewater has become a growing concern due to their potential health and environmental risks. While the toxic effects of these pollutants on aquatic organisms have been extensively studied, their impact on microbial [...] Read more.
The release of a wide variety of persistent chemical contaminants into wastewater has become a growing concern due to their potential health and environmental risks. While the toxic effects of these pollutants on aquatic organisms have been extensively studied, their impact on microbial pathogens and their virulence mechanisms remains largely unexplored. This research paper focuses on the identification and prioritization of chemical pollutants that increase bacterial pathogenicity, which is a public health concern. In order to predict how chemical compounds, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, would affect the virulence mechanisms of three bacterial strains (Escherichia coli K12, Pseudomonas aeruginosa H103, and Salmonella enterica serovar. Typhimurium), this study has developed quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models. The use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) functions assists in developing QSAR models based on the chemical structure of the compounds, to predict their effect on the growth and swarming behavior of the bacterial strains. The results showed an uncertainty in the created model, and that increases in virulence factors, including growth and motility of bacteria, after exposure to the studied compounds are possible to be predicted. These results could be more accurate if the interactions between groups of functions are included. For that, to make an accurate and universal model, it is essential to incorporate a larger number of compounds of similar and different structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Microorganisms in Wastewater Environments)
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