Environmental remodeling of human gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome in livestock farms.

Anthropogenic environments have been implicated in enrichment and exchange of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria. Here we study the impact of confined and controlled swine farm environments on temporal changes in the gut microbiome and resistome of veterinary students with occupational exposure for 3 months. By analyzing 16S rRNA and whole metagenome shotgun sequencing data in tandem with culture-based methods, we show that farm exposure shapes the gut microbiome of students, resulting in enrichment of potentially pathogenic taxa and antimicrobial resistance genes. Comparison of students' gut microbiomes and resistomes to farm workers' and environmental samples revealed extensive sharing of resistance genes and bacteria following exposure and after three months of their visit. Notably, antibiotic resistance genes were found in similar genetic contexts in student samples and farm environmental samples. Dynamic Bayesian network modeling predicted that the observed changes partially reverse over a 4-6 month period. Our results indicate that acute changes in a human's living environment can persistently shape their gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome.

Cytisine induces apoptosis of HepG2 cells.

Cytisine is a quinolizidine alkaloid, which has been reported to be among the major bioactive components of Sophora alopecuraides L. Quinolizidine alkaloids have previously been demonstrated to inhibit the proliferation of several types of tumor cells. However, few studies have investigated the effects of cytisine on cancer cells. The present study was performed to further investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying cytisine­induced apoptosis of HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The results of an MTT assay demonstrated that cytisine inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells in a dose­dependent manner. In addition, the induction of apoptosis was detected, as determined by morphological observation and flow cytometry. As determined by fluorescence microscopy, apoptotic morphological alterations were detected following cytisine administration. Flow cytometric analyses demonstrated that cytisine induced cytotoxicity through apoptosis­like mechanisms in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, western blot analysis was performed to investigate the release of cytochrome c (Cyt­c) and activation of the caspase cascade, and the results indicated that treatment of HepG2 cells with cytisine induced caspase­dependent apoptosis via the release of Cyt­c from the mitochondria, upregulation of caspase­3 and downregulation of pro­caspase­3. These results indicated that cytisine may induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells through the mitochondrial pathway.

[Effects of colistin sulfate residue on soil microbial community structure].

By using fumigation extraction and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) methods, the change of characteristics of soil microbial community structure caused by residue of colistin sulfate (CS) was studied. The results showed that the CS (w(cs) > or = 5 mg x kg(-1)) had a significant effect on the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and it was dose-dependent where MBC decreased with the increase of CS concentration in soil. The MBC in soil decreased by 52. 1% when the CS concentration reached 50 mg x kg(-1). The total PLFA of soil in each CS treatment was significantly decreased during the sampling period compared with the control group and showed a dose-dependent relationship. The soil microbial community structure and diversity in the low CS group (w(cs) = 0.5 mg x kg(-1)) were not significantly different from the control group on 7th and 49th day. However, they were significantly different on 21st and 35th day especially in the high CS group (w(cs) = 50 mg x kg(-1)). It was concluded that CS could change the structure of soil microorganisms and varied with time which might be caused by the chemical conversion and degradation of CS in soil.

Antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from food animals, animal food products and companion animals in China.

One thousand and thirty Escherichia coli isolates from food animals, animals-derived foods, and companion animals between 2007 and 2008 in Southern China were used to investigate their antimicrobial susceptibility to 14 different antimicrobials by the standard agar dilution method. More than 70% of isolates showed resistance to tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, and ampicillin. In general, resistance was less frequent in companion animal isolates vs food animals isolates, but cephalosporin and amikacin resistance was more frequent in companion animal isolates, 42.6% to 56.2% vs 14.1% to 24.3%, and 28.5% vs 18.8%, respectively, which was most likely due to the common use of these antimicrobials as treatment in pet animals. Fluoroquinolones resistance was high in all animal isolates (>50%). Food products showed lowest resistance among isolates from these three resources. PFGE analysis indicated that a majority of multidrug-resistant E. coli isolates showed unique, unrelated PFGE profiles and were unlikely to be the spread of a specific clone. This study provides useful information about the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli isolated from animals and food products in China and provided evidence of the linkage of the use of antimicrobials in animals and its selection of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates. The data from this study further warns the prudent use of antimicrobials in food and pet animals to reduce the risks of transmission of antimicrobial resistance zoonotic pathogen to humans.

Novel pleuromutilin derivatives with excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

Ten novel pleuromutilin derivatives with thioether moiety and heterocyclic carboxamide or chloroformate group in the side chain were synthesized and confirmed by (1)H NMR, IR and HRMS. The results of the antibacterial activity showed that the title compounds had excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, among which the MIC of 5f reached 0.03125 microg/mL.