Heavy metal resistance genes and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in Arthrobacter sp. isolated from Brazilian soils.

Arthrobacter sp. are Gram-positive bacilli commonly obtained from soil and in the hospital environment. These species have been reported to cause several types of infection. Heavy metals are a threat to the ecological system due to their high-levels of toxicity and the fluoroquinolones are antimicrobials widely used for the treatment of different bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the resistance to fluoroquinolone and heavy metals, the presence of plasmid-mediated resistance (PMQR) genes and heavy metals resistance (HMR) genes and the presence of plasmids in Arthrobacter sp. obtained from Brazilian soils. Bacterial isolation was performed using soil samples from different Brazilian regions. The bacterial identification was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The resistance profile for fluoroquinolones and heavy metals was determined by MIC. Several PMQR and HMR genes and plasmid families were investigated by PCR. Eight isolates were obtained from soil samples from different cultivations and regions of Brazil. All isolates were resistant to all fluoroquinolones, cadmium, cobalt and zinc and the majority to copper. Among the PMQR genes, the qepA (4) was the most prevalent, followed by qnrS (3), qnrB (3), oqxB (2) and oqxA (1). Among the HMR genes, the copA was detected in all isolates and the czcA in two isolates. The replication origin of the ColE-like plasmid was detected in all isolates; however, no plasmid was detected by extraction. The association of resistance to heavy metals and antimicrobials is a threat to the environmental balance and to human health. There are no studies reporting the association of PMQR and HMR genes in bacteria belonging to the genus Arthrobacter. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of qnrB, qepA, oqxA and oqxB in Arthrobacter species.