Identification of Enterococcus faecalis bacteria resistant to heavy metals and antibiotics in surface waters of the Mololoa River in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 183; no. 1-4; pp. 329 - 340
• Main Authors: Mondragón, Verónica Alejandra, Llamas-Pérez, Dámaris F., González-Guzmán, Gladis E., Márquez-González, Antonio R., Padilla-Noriega, Roberto, Durán-Avelar, Ma. de Jesús, Franco, Bernardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; drug effects; Drug resistance; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Enterococcus; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis - drug effects; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Feces; Flow pattern; flow resistance; Fresh water ecosystems; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic diversity; genetic variation; Heavy metals; human health; metal tolerance; Metals; Metals, Heavy; Metals, Heavy - toxicity; Mexico; microbiology; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; pharmacology; Public health; River flow; river water; Rivers; Rivers - microbiology; Sewage; Stream flow; Studies; Surface water; Synecology; toxicity; Waste management; wastewater; Water; water analysis; Water flow; Water Microbiology; Water pollution; Water treatment plants; Central America; Mexico; America; Mexico, Nayarit; Heavy metal resistance; Mololoa River; Antibiotics resistance; Trash confinement effluent; Enterococcus faecalis; Drug; Confinement; Rivers; Heavy metal; Freshwater environment; Trace element; Streptococcaceae; Antibiotic; Sensitivity resistance; Surface water; Antibiotic resistance; Micrococcales; Bacteria; Stream; Effluent; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-011-1924-y

Heavy metal and antibiotic resistance have been shown to have a strong correlation in nature, and their inter-relation is an important subject of study. We report an analysis of surface waters of the Mololoa River in the municipality of Tepic, state of Nayarit, Mexico. This river has two distinctive sources of contamination: sewage waters and trash confinements. Our findings demonstrate a correlation between the river flow pattern and resistance to heavy metals or to heavy metals and antibiotics in isolated bacteria of the genus Enterococcus , specifically Enterococcus faecalis . The Mololoa River provides a model to study the relationship between water flow and generation of biodiversity, and more importantly, it constitutes a model for studying genetic diversity of bacteria affecting human health.