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    STUDIA BIOLOGIA - Issue no. 1 / 2019  
         
  Article:   BIODIVERSITY AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PROFILING OF A TRIASSIC HALITE DEPOSIT IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

Authors:  JULIANNE MEGAW, STEPHEN KELLY, THOMAS THOMPSON, TIMOFEY SKVORTSOV, BRENDAN GILMORE.
 
       
         
  Abstract:  Kilroot salt mine, a Triassic halite deposit, is the only hypersaline environment in Ireland. We profiled the culturable and nonculturable microbiota of this unstudied environment using conventional isolation (with the addition of some augmented techniques) and metagenomics. Based on 16S sequencing, 89 extremely halophilic archaea from six genera, and 55 halophilic and halotolerant bacteria from 19 genera were isolated. The archaea were similar to what has been previously isolated from other ancient halite deposits, and as expected, numerous additional genera were identified in the metagenome, indicating the limitations of culture-based approaches. We also observed high levels of phenotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the isolates. Annotation of whole genome and metagenomic sequence data identified a number of genes which might explain the observed resistant phenotypes, however there were fewer than expected, suggesting that these microorganisms may use novel, as yet unidentified resistance mechanisms. A growing body of evidence suggests AMR is not a modern phenomenon, but that its origins are ancient, long predating modern antibiotic use. Studying AMR in environments that have had little or no exposure to anthropogenic antibiotic sources provides a critical measure of its natural diversity, which has significant implications in our understanding of its prevalence and evolution.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, haloarchaea, isolation, metagenome, microbiome.
 
         
     
         
         
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