J Bacteriol Virol.  2009 Dec;39(4):247-256. 10.4167/jbv.2009.39.4.247.

Distribution of Genomic Species and Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Acinetobacters Isolated from Gangjin Bay, Korea

• Oh JY
• Jeong YW
• Joo HS
• Chong WS
• Lee JC
• Tamang MD
• Lee WB
• Park JC

• KMID: 2168536
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2009.39.4.247

Abstract

A total of 90 Acinetobacter isolates from freshwater and seawater in Gangjin Bay of Korea was investigated for the distribution of genomic species, antimicrobial resistance patterns and clonal relatedness. By amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis, eighty-nine Acinetobacter isolates were classified into 11 Acinetobacter genomic species. A. johnsonii (n=23) was the most prevalent, followed by A. baumannii (n=13), A. calcoaceticus (n=13), Acinetobacter genomic species 11 (n=10), A. phenon 6/ct13TU (n=9), A. junii (n=5), A. venetianus (n=5), Acinetobacter genomic species 17 (n=4), 14BJ (n=3), A. phenon 10/1271 (n=2), Acinetobacter genomic species 3 (n=1), and ungrouped (n=1). The majority of Acinetobacter genomic species were isolated from the site A and B, and some known nosocomial pathogens in the clinical environment were observed among them. Of the 11 antimicrobial drugs tested, several A. johnsonii isolates exhibited high-frequency resistance to a wide variety of antimicrobial agents, including ampicillin-sulbactam, piperacillin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and sulfamethoxazole (p < 0.001). Some Acinetobacter genomic species were resistant to currently used antibiotics but all isolates were susceptible to imipenem, amikacin, and tetracycline. Based on the results of antimicrobial resistance pattern and phylogenetic analysis, 23 A. johnsonii isolates were classified into 19 pulsotypes. In conclusion, there was a significant difference in the distribution of Acinetobacter species between freshwater and seawater. Predominance of A. johnsonii strains was probably due to their ability to proliferate in the contaminated aquatic environment originated from local geographic features. Therefore, the waste effluent from animals and humans plays an important role in the distribution of Acinetobacter species in aquatic environment.

Keyword

Acinetobacter johnsonii; High-frequency resistance; Aquatic environment

MeSH Terms

Acinetobacter
Amikacin
Ampicillin
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Bays
Cefotaxime
Ceftazidime
DNA, Ribosomal
Fresh Water
Humans
Imipenem
Korea
Piperacillin
Seawater
Sulbactam
Sulfamethoxazole
Tetracycline
Amikacin
Ampicillin
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Cefotaxime
Ceftazidime
DNA, Ribosomal
Imipenem
Piperacillin
Sulbactam
Sulfamethoxazole
Tetracycline

Figure

• 

  Figure 1. Phylogenetic analysis of 23 A. johnsonii isolates from the Gangjin Bay of Korea. CHEF electrophoresis of ApaI-digested genomic DNAs. The dendrogram is based on cluster analysis by the unweighted-pair group method with average linkages.

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