Biofilm Formation Plays a Role in the Formation of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Toward Nutrients in Microcosm Experiments.
In this study, microcosms were established to determine the effect of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on the multidrug resistance and biofilm-forming abilities of Escherichia coli. The expression of biofilm-formation-related genes was detected to establish correlations between genotype and phenotype. Different concentrations of N and P were added to make one control group and four treatment groups. The glass tube method was used to determine biofilm-forming capabilities. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA abundance of six biofilm-formation-related genes in E. coli. No resistant strains were isolated from the control group; meanwhile, multidrug resistance rates were high in the treatment groups. Expression of the biofilm-associated genes luxS, flhD, fliA, motA, and fimH was detected in all treatment groups; however, there was no expression of mqsR. The expression of luxS, flhD, fliA, motA, and fimH significantly correlated with the concentration of N and P, as well as with the appearance and duration of multidrug resistance in different groups. Overall, the results of this study suggest that biofilm-forming ability plays a key role in the formation of multidrug resistance in E. coli after the addition of N and P to a microcosm.
['Chen|Xiu P|XP|', 'Ali|Liaqat|L|', 'Wu|Li-Yun|LY|', 'Liu|Can|C|', 'Gang|Chen X|CX|', 'Huang|Qi F|QF|', 'Ruan|Jing H|JH|', 'Bao|Song Y|SY|', 'Rao|Yun P|YP|', 'Yu|DaoJin|D|']
biofilm Escherichia coli microcosm nitrogen phosphorus antibiotic resistance biofilm-forming related genes no observed effect concentration (NOEC)