The risk of transmitting antibiotic resistance through endophytic bacteria

• Published in: Trends in plant science Vol. 26; no. 12; pp. 1213 - 1226
• Main Authors: Scaccia, Nazareno, Vaz-Moreira, Ivone, Manaia, Célia M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; antibiotic-resistance genes; antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Biological contamination; Contamination; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Endophytes; endophytic bacteria; Health risks; human food-chain; Opportunist infection; Phylogeny; Soil bacteria; Soil contamination; Soil microorganisms; Soil resistance; Soil water; wastewater reuse; Water pollution; antibiotic-resistance genes; wastewater reuse; soil contamination; human food-chain; endophytic bacteria; antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• ISSN: 1360-1385; 1878-4372
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2021.09.001

Antibiotic resistance is a global human health threat distributed across humans, animals, plants, and the environment. Under the One-Health concept (humans, animals, and environment), the contamination of water bodies and soil by antibiotic-resistant bacteria cannot be dissociated from its potential transmission to humans. Edible plants can be colonized by a vast diversity of bacteria, representing an important link between the environment and humans in the One-Health triad. Based on multiple examples of bacterial groups that comprise endophytes reported in edible plants, and that have close phylogenetic proximity with human opportunistic pathogens, we argue that plants exposed to human-derived biological contamination may represent a path of transmission of antibiotic resistance to humans. Antibiotic resistance is increasingly disseminated in the environment with an enhanced probability of association with crop plants.Antibiotic-resistant endophytic bacteria, not eliminated during the washing of edible vegetables, might be vectors of transmission of antibiotic resistance to consumers.Crops such as lettuce, carrot, radish, cucumber, or tomato can host antibiotic-resistant endophytic bacteria, potential vectors of transmission to humans.Members of genera such as Enterobacter, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Burkholderia, Serratia, Stenotrophomonas, and Bacillus, often associated with crops, may harbor antibiotic-resistance genes.If produced under inadequate conditions and consumed regularly, crops liable to uptake environmental bacteria, may contribute to enrich the acquired antibiotic resistome of consumers.