TY - JOUR
T1 - Mutagenesis and Resistance Development of Bacteria Challenged by Silver Nanoparticles
AU - Wu, Kun
AU - Li, Haichao
AU - Cui, Xiao
AU - Feng, Ruobing
AU - Chen, Weizhe
AU - Jiang, Yuchen
AU - Tang, Chao
AU - Wang, Yaohai
AU - Wang, Yan
AU - Shen, Xiaopeng
AU - Liu, Yufei
AU - Lynch, Michael
AU - Long, Hongan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Wu et al.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Because of their extremely broad spectrum and strong biocidal power, nanoparticles of metals, especially silver (AgNPs), have been widely applied as effective antimicrobial agents against bacteria, fungi, and so on. However, the mutagenic effects of AgNPs and resistance mechanisms of target cells remain controversial. In this study, we discover that AgNPs do not speed up resistance mutation generation by accelerating genome-wide mutation rate of the target bacterium Escherichia coli. AgNPs-treated bacteria also show decreased expression in quorum sensing (QS), one of the major mechanisms leading to population-level drug resistance in microbes. Nonetheless, these nanomaterials are not immune to resistance development by bacteria. Gene expression analysis, experimental evolution in response to sublethal or bactericidal AgNPs treatments, and gene editing reveal that bacteria acquire resistance mainly through two-component regulatory systems, especially those involved in metal detoxification, osmoregulation, and energy metabolism. Although these findings imply low mutagenic risks of nanomaterial-based antimicrobial agents, they also highlight the capacity for bacteria to evolve resistance.
AB - Because of their extremely broad spectrum and strong biocidal power, nanoparticles of metals, especially silver (AgNPs), have been widely applied as effective antimicrobial agents against bacteria, fungi, and so on. However, the mutagenic effects of AgNPs and resistance mechanisms of target cells remain controversial. In this study, we discover that AgNPs do not speed up resistance mutation generation by accelerating genome-wide mutation rate of the target bacterium Escherichia coli. AgNPs-treated bacteria also show decreased expression in quorum sensing (QS), one of the major mechanisms leading to population-level drug resistance in microbes. Nonetheless, these nanomaterials are not immune to resistance development by bacteria. Gene expression analysis, experimental evolution in response to sublethal or bactericidal AgNPs treatments, and gene editing reveal that bacteria acquire resistance mainly through two-component regulatory systems, especially those involved in metal detoxification, osmoregulation, and energy metabolism. Although these findings imply low mutagenic risks of nanomaterial-based antimicrobial agents, they also highlight the capacity for bacteria to evolve resistance.
KW - antimicrobial agents
KW - drug resistance
KW - environmental mutagenesis
KW - experimental evolution
KW - metallic nanoparticles
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U2 - 10.1128/aac.00628-22
DO - 10.1128/aac.00628-22
M3 - Article
C2 - 36094196
AN - SCOPUS:85140206776
SN - 0066-4804
VL - 66
JO - Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
JF - Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
IS - 10
ER -