Metal accumulation and vanadium-induced multidrug resistance by environmental isolates of Escherichia hermannii and Enterobacter cloacae

• Published in: Applied and environmental microbiology Vol. 64; no. 11; pp. 4317 - 4320
• Main Authors: HERNANDEZ, A, MELLADO, R. P, MARTINEZ, J. L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for Microbiology 01.11.1998
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Bacteria; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - biosynthesis; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Biology of microorganisms of confirmed or potential industrial interest; Biotechnology; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Drug Resistance, Multiple; Enterobacter cloacae - drug effects; Enterobacter cloacae - isolation & purification; Enterobacter cloacae - physiology; Environmental cleanup; Escherichia - drug effects; Escherichia - isolation & purification; Escherichia - physiology; Fuel Oils; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Metals; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Mission oriented research; Nickel - metabolism; Physiology and Biotechnology; Physiology and metabolism; Soil Microbiology; Vanadium - metabolism; Vanadium - pharmacology; Membrane protein; Enterobacter cloacae; Vanadium; External membrane; Biological purification; Heavy metal; Soils; Antibiotic; Sensitivity resistance; Decontamination; Multiple resistance; Bacteria; Isolation; Nickel; Biological accumulation; Application; Enterobacteriaceae
• ISSN: 0099-2240; 1098-5336
• DOI: 10.1128/aem.64.11.4317-4320.1998

Contaminated soils from an oil refinery were screened for the presence of microorganisms capable of accumulating either nickel, vanadium, or both metals. Three strains of bacteria that belonged to the family Enterobacteriaceae were selected. Two of them were Escherichia hermannii strains, and outer membrane profile (OMP) analysis showed that they were similar to a strain of clinical origin; the other one was an Enterobacter cloacae strain that differed from clinical isolates. The selected bacteria accumulated both nickel and vanadium. Growth in the presence of vanadium induced multidrug resistance phenotypes in E. hermannii and E. cloacae. Incubation with this metal changed the OMP profile of E. hermannii but did not produce variations in the expression of the major OMPs of E. cloacae.