ISSN:
1476-5535
Keywords:
agricultural soil
;
bacterial diversity
;
antimicrobial and mercury resittance
;
plasmids
;
tetracycline resistance determinants (class A to E)
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
Notes:
Abstract The community structure in two different agricultural soils has been investigated. Phenotypic diversity was assessed by applying BIOLOG-profiles on a total of 208 bacterial isolates. Diversity indices were calculated from cluster analysis of the BIOLOG data. The bacterial isolates were also evaluated for resistance towards six different antibiotics, mercury resistance and the presence of plasmids. The presence of tetracycline-resistant determinants class A to E among Gram-negative bacteria was analysed with DNA probes. The distribution of tetracycline resistance markers among colonies growing on non-selective and tetracycline-selective plates were compared. The phenotypic approach demonstrated some difference in the diversity within the two soils. The frequency of antibiotic resistance isolates was high in both soils, whereas the frequency of mercury resistance differed significantly. We found no correlation between plasmid profiles and antibiotic resistance patterns. We found all the tetracycline resistance determinants except class B, indicating that the diversity of the tetracycline resistance determinants was complex in populations of resident soil bacteria under no apparent selective pressure for the genes in question.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01574699
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