Biomonitoring marine habitats in reference to antibiotic resistant bacteria and ampicillin resistance determinants from oviductal fluid of the nesting green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas.

ABSTRACT

During the egg-laying process, oviductal fluid was collected using a non-invasive procedure from the cloacal vent of the green turtles. Forty-two independent isolates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from 11 genera were obtained from 20 turtles during nesting. The dominant isolate was Citrobacter (52.4%), followed by Pseudomonas, Proteus, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Edwardsiella, Morganella, Providencia and Arcomobacter. Most of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Ampicillin-resistant isolates showed variations in their resistance for the following classes of ß-lactamases extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (EBSLs), AmpC type ß-lactamases C (AmpC), and screen-positive ß-lactamase. None of the isolates produced metallo ß-lactamase. Some ampicillin-resistant genes were detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) only. Inhibitor based test (IBT) categorized some isolates as AmpC ß-lactamase producers. ß-Lactamase genes were detected from a few strains. The sequencing of those genes revealed the presence of cephamycinase (CMY) and AmpC ß-lactamases. The oviductal fluid was used in this study as a source of bacterial antibiotic-resistant determinants for biomonitoring marine turtles exposed to contaminated effluents. This data can be of value in understanding the decline of this endangered species as a result of exposure to marine pollution which is threatening their survival.