Raw wastewater irrigation for urban agriculture in three African cities increases the abundance of transferable antibiotic resistance genes in soil, including those encoding extended spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs).

A study was conducted to investigate the impact of raw wastewater use for irrigation on dissemination of bacterial resistance in urban agriculture in African cities. The pollution of agricultural fields by selected antibiotic residues was assessed. The structure and functions of the soil microbial communities, presence of antibiotic resistance genes of human clinical importance and Enterobacteriaceae plasmid replicons were analysed using high throughput metagenomic sequencing. In irrigated fields, the richness of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla increased by 65% and 15.7%, respectively; functions allocated to microbial communities' adaptation and development increased by 3%. Abundance of antibiotic resistance genes of medical interest was 27% greater in irrigated fields. Extended spectrum ß-lactamase genes identified in irrigated fields included blaCARB-3, blaOXA-347, blaOXA-5 and blaRm3. The presence of ARGs encoding resistance to amphenicols, ß-lactams, and tetracyclines were associated with the higher concentrations of ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole in irrigated fields. Ten Enterobacteriaceae plasmid amplicon groups involved in the wide distribution of ARGs were identified in the fields. IncQ2, ColE, IncFIC, IncQ1, and IncFII were found in both farming systems; IncW and IncP1 in irrigated fields; and IncY, IncFIB and IncFIA in non-irrigated fields. In conclusion, raw wastewater irrigated soils in African cities could represent a vector for the spread of antibiotic resistance, thus threatening human and animal health. Consumers of products from these farms and farmers could be at risk of acquiring infections due to drug-resistant bacteria.

High-throughput sequencing data and antibiotic resistance mechanisms of soil microbial communities in non-irrigated and irrigated soils with raw sewage in African cities.

High-throughput sequencing data of soil microbial communities in non-irrigated and irrigated soils with raw sewage in African cities are presented in this report. These data were collected to study the potential of wastewater use in urban agriculture to disseminate bacterial resistance in soil. Soil samples were collected in three cities in two African countries. Each city had two sectors (irrigated and non-irrigated). After collection, biomass samples were purified, DNA from soil was extracted, quantified and sequenced using multiplex Illumina high-throughput sequencing. The sequence count of the six metagenome datasets ranges from 3,258,523,350 bp to 4,120,454,250 bp; the mean sequence length post quality control average was 149 ± 3 bp. The mechanisms of resistance encoded by the identified antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the metagenomic data were dominated by antibiotic inactivation enzymes (64.7% and 71.9%), followed by antibiotic target replacement (14.7% and 12.5%), antibiotic target protection (11.8% and 9.4%) and efflux pumps (6.3% and 8.8%) in bacterial DNA isolated from irrigated and non-irrigated fields, respectively. The datasets will be useful for the scientific community working in the area of bacterial resistance dissemination from the environment. They can be used for further understanding of bacterial drug-resistance gene prevalence and acquisition in wastewater irrigated soils. The data reported herein was used for the article, titled "Raw wastewater irrigation for urban agriculture in three African cities increases the abundance of transferable antibiotic resistance genes in soil, including those encoding Extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBLs)" Bougnom et al. (2020) [1].

Microbial diversity and biochemical characteristics of Borassus akeassii wine.

UNLABELLED: Palm wine produced traditionally and consumed by many people in the South-West of Burkina Faso is subject to alteration. In this study, we carried out a follow-up of two palm wines' fermentation during the 10 days in which palm wines are classically produced and consumed. We monitored biochemical characteristics of fermenting wines as well as followed the microflora kinetics using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. The analysis of the acid content and the bacterial population revealed the correlation between the development of Lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid, and total acidity. Ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis and sequencing results revealed different yeast and bacterial populations for the two palm wines. Although Saccharomyces cerevisiae remained the sole yeast species in one fermentation, it was quickly replaced by Clavispora lusitaniae in the second fermentation, which had never been described until now in palm wine. When considering bacteria, the species Corynebacterium sp., Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus paracasei and Leuconostoc sp. were detected in both palm wines. But we also detected Acetobacter pasteurianus, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis in the second fermentation. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Our results highlight the evolution of palm wine during the 10 days separating palm tapping and consumption of the fermented wine. The fermentation step is performed within few hours and completed after 24 h. The next days, its acidity increases progressively with the production of lactic and acetic acids by bacteria. The high production of acetic acid is very likely one of the main cause of palm wine degradation during this period. This indicates that the solution to palm wine preservation might be protection against oxygen, as well as the limit of bacterial growth through the use of preservatives.

In vitro antiplasmodial and antibacterial activities of Canthium multiflorum Schum and Thonn (Rubiacea) extracts.

Because of the resistance of pathogens to actually available drugs, there is a continuous need for new agents to cure several diseases such as malaria and microbial infections. In the establishment of new drugs, plant are often a source of new leads, indeed aqueous, acetone and methanol extracts of Canthium multiflorum were tested for antiplasmodial and antibacterial activities. The antiplasmodial activity was performed on fresh clinical strains of Plasmodium falciparum using light microscopy. The results revealed that the methanol extract was the most active with IC50 of 4.69 microg mL(-1). The NCCLS microdilution method performed on clinical and reference strains of pathogenic bacteria yielded MIC and MBC values ranging from 312 to 1250 and 625 to 2500 microg mL(-1), respectively. The qualitative analysis of the extract revealed the presence of several chemical groups such as alkaloids, terpens and tannins that might be responsible for the activity of the plant. The issue of this study showed that C. multiflorum is a plant that many attention should be paid to because of it pharmacological potentials.