Ubiquity of R factor-mediated antibiotic resistance in the healthy population. - Related Documents




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339801.0000Ubiquity of R factor-mediated antibiotic resistance in the healthy population. An attempt was made to assess the occurrence of R factor-mediated antibiotic resistance in the healthy population. Samples of aerobic, gram-negative intestinal bacteria from men from various parts of the country at military conscription were analysed for transferable drug resistance. The obtained frequency, about 15% of R factor carriers in the studied group, was interpreted to reflect the existence of a reservoir of R factors, from which resistant, pathogenic bacteria could be selected under antibiotic therapy. Resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin and sulfonamides dominated among the identified R factor-borne resistance traits.1977320655
339410.9999Antibiotic resistance patterns of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from faecal wastes in the environment and contaminated surface water. The Pseudomonas genus, which includes environmental and pathogenic species, is known to present antibiotic resistances, and can receive resistance genes from multi-resistant enteric bacteria released into the environment via faecal rejects. This study was aimed to investigate the resistome of Pseudomonas populations that have been in contact with these faecal bacteria. Thus, faecal discharges originating from human or cattle were sampled (from 12 points and two sampling campaigns) and 41 Pseudomonas species identified (316 isolates studied). The resistance phenotype to 25 antibiotics was determined in all isolates, and we propose a specific antibiotic resistance pattern for 14 species (from 2 to 9 resistances). None showed resistance to aminoglycosides, tetracycline, or polymyxins. Four species carried a very low number of resistances, with none to β-lactams. Interestingly, we observed the absence of the transcriptional activator soxR gene in these four species. No plasmid transfer was highlighted by conjugation assays, and a few class 1 but no class 2 integrons were detected in strains that may have received resistance genes from Enterobacteria. These results imply that the contribution of the Pseudomonas genus to the resistome of an ecosystem first depends on the structure of the Pseudomonas populations, as they may have very different resistance profiles.202031930390
340920.9999Antibiotic resistance genes in the bacteriophage DNA fraction of environmental samples. Antibiotic resistance is an increasing global problem resulting from the pressure of antibiotic usage, greater mobility of the population, and industrialization. Many antibiotic resistance genes are believed to have originated in microorganisms in the environment, and to have been transferred to other bacteria through mobile genetic elements. Among others, β-lactam antibiotics show clinical efficacy and low toxicity, and they are thus widely used as antimicrobials. Resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is conferred by β-lactamase genes and penicillin-binding proteins, which are chromosomal- or plasmid-encoded, although there is little information available on the contribution of other mobile genetic elements, such as phages. This study is focused on three genes that confer resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, namely two β-lactamase genes (blaTEM and blaCTX-M9) and one encoding a penicillin-binding protein (mecA) in bacteriophage DNA isolated from environmental water samples. The three genes were quantified in the DNA isolated from bacteriophages collected from 30 urban sewage and river water samples, using quantitative PCR amplification. All three genes were detected in the DNA of phages from all the samples tested, in some cases reaching 104 gene copies (GC) of blaTEM or 102 GC of blaCTX-M and mecA. These values are consistent with the amount of fecal pollution in the sample, except for mecA, which showed a higher number of copies in river water samples than in urban sewage. The bla genes from phage DNA were transferred by electroporation to sensitive host bacteria, which became resistant to ampicillin. blaTEM and blaCTX were detected in the DNA of the resistant clones after transfection. This study indicates that phages are reservoirs of resistance genes in the environment.201121390233
340830.9999The role of aquatic ecosystems as reservoirs of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. The widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the development of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic, as well as commensal, microorganisms. Resistance genes may be horizontally or vertically transferred between bacterial communities in the environment. The recipient bacterial communities may then act as a reservoir of these resistance genes. In this study, we report the incidence of antibiotic resistance in enteric bacteria isolated from the Mhlathuze River and the distribution of genetic elements that may be responsible for the observed antibiotic resistance. The resistance of the enteric bacteria isolated over a period of one year showed that resistance to the older classes of antibiotics was high (94.7% resistance to one antibiotic and 80.8% resistance to two antibiotics). Furthermore, antibiotic resistance data of the environmental isolates showed a strong correlation (r = 0.97) with data obtained from diarrhoea patients. PCR based methods demonstrated that class 1 integrons were present in >50% of the environmental bacterial isolates that were resistant to multiple antibiotics. This class of integrons is capable of transferring genes responsible for resistance to beta-lactam, aminoglycoside, sulfonamide and quaternary ammonium antimicrobial agents. Conjugate plasmids were also isolated, but from a small percentage of isolates. This study showed that the Mhlathuze River (a) is a medium for the spread of bacterial antibiotic resistance genes, (b) acts as a reservoir for these genes and (c) due to socio-economic pressures, may play a role in the development and evolution of these genes along this river system.200415318485
460840.9999Presence of Tetracycline and Sulfonamide Resistance Genes in Salmonella spp.: Literature Review. Tetracyclines and sulfonamides are broad-spectrum antibacterial agents which have been used to treat bacterial infections for over half a century. The widespread use of tetracyclines and sulfonamides led to the emergence of resistance in a diverse group of bacteria. This resistance can be studied by searching for resistance genes present in the bacteria responsible for different resistance mechanisms. Salmonella is one of the leading bacteria causing foodborne diseases worldwide, and its resistance to tetracyclines and sulfonamides has been widely reported. The literature review searched the Virtual Health Library for articles with specific data in the studied samples: the resistance genes found, the primers used in PCR, and the thermocycler conditions. The results revealed that Salmonella presented high rates of resistance to tetracycline and sulfonamide, and the most frequent samples used to isolate Salmonella were poultry and pork. The tetracycline resistance genes most frequently detected from Salmonella spp. were tetA followed by tetB. The gene sul1 followed by sul2 were the most frequently sulfonamide resistance genes present in Salmonella. These genes are associated with plasmids, transposons, or both, and are often conjugative, highlighting the transference potential of these genes to other bacteria, environments, animals, and humans.202134827252
339950.9999Antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes in Enterococcus isolated from tropical recreational waters. The prevalence of enterococci harboring tetracycline- and vancomycin-resistance genes, as well as the enterococcal surface protein (esp) has mostly been determined in clinical settings, but their prevalence in tropical recreational waters remains largely unknown. The present study determined the prevalence of tetM (tetracycline-resistance), vanA and vanB (vancomycin-resistance) in the bacterial and viral fractions, enterococci and their induced phages isolated from tropical recreational marine and fresh waters, dry and wet sands. Since lysogenic phages can act as vectors for antibiotic-resistance and virulence factors, the prevalence of the mentioned genes, as well as that of an integrase-encoding gene (int) specific for Enterococcus faecalis phages was determined. Up to 60 and 54% of the bacterial fractions and enterococci, respectively, harbored at least one of the tested genes suggesting that bacteria in tropical environments may be reservoirs of antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes. int was detected in the viral fractions and in one Enterococcus isolate after induction. This study presents the opportunity to determine if the presence of bacteria harboring antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes in tropical recreational waters represents a threat to public health.201323981868
339160.9999Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of bacteria isolated from three municipal wastewater treatment plants on tetracycline-amended and ciprofloxacin-amended growth media. AIMS: The goal of this study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria isolated from three municipal wastewater treatment plants. METHODS AND RESULTS: Numerous bacterial strains were isolated from three municipal wastewater treatment facilities on tetracycline- (n=164) and ciprofloxacin-amended (n=65) growth media. These bacteria were then characterized with respect to their resistance to as many as 10 different antimicrobials, the presence of 14 common genes that encode resistance to tetracycline, the presence of integrons and/or the ability to transfer resistance via conjugation. All of the characterized strains exhibited some degree of multiple antimicrobial resistance, with nearly 50% demonstrating resistance to every antimicrobial that was tested. Genes encoding resistance to tetracycline were commonly detected among these strains, although intriguingly the frequency of detection was slightly higher for the bacteria isolated on ciprofloxacin-amended growth media (62%) compared to the bacteria isolated on tetracycline-amended growth media (53%). Class 1 integrons were also detected in 100% of the queried tetracycline-resistant bacteria and almost half of the ciprofloxacin-resistant strains. Conjugation experiments demonstrated that at least one of the tetracycline-resistant bacteria was capable of lateral gene transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that multiple antimicrobial resistance is a common trait among tetracycline-resistant and ciprofloxacin-resistant bacteria in municipal wastewater. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: These organisms are potentially important in the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance because they appear to have acquired multiple genetic determinants that confer resistance and because they have the potential to laterally transfer these genetic determinants to strains of clinical importance.201020629799
339370.9999Antibiotic resistance of gram-negative bacteria in rivers, United States. Bacteria with intrinsic resistance to antibiotics are found in nature. Such organisms may acquire additional resistance genes from bacteria introduced into soil or water, and the resident bacteria may be the reservoir or source of widespread resistant organisms found in many environments. We isolated antibiotic-resistant bacteria in freshwater samples from 16 U.S. rivers at 22 sites and measured the prevalence of organisms resistant to beta-lactam and non-beta-lactam antibiotics. Over 40% of the bacteria resistant to more than one antibiotic had at least one plasmid. Ampicillin resistance genes, as well as other resistance traits, were identified in 70% of the plasmids. The most common resistant organisms belonged to the following genera: Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Serratia.200212095440
360680.9999Presence of specific antibiotic (tet) resistance genes in infant faecal microbiota. The widespread use of antibiotics for medical and veterinary purposes has led to an increase of microbial resistance. The antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria has been studied extensively. However, antibiotics are not only selective for pathogens: they also affect all members of the gut microbiota. These microorganisms may constitute a reservoir of genes carrying resistance to specific antibiotics. This study was designed to characterize the gut microbiota with regard to the presence of genes encoding tetracycline resistance proteins (tet) in the gut of healthy exclusively breast-fed infants and their mothers. For this purpose we determined the prevalence of genes encoding ribosomal protection proteins (tet M, tet W, tet O, tet S, tet T and tet B) by PCR and characterized the gut microbiota by FISH in stools of infants and their mothers. The gene tet M was found in all the breast-fed infants and their mothers. tet O was found in all of the mothers' samples, whilst only 35% of the infants harboured this gene. tet W was less frequently found (85% of the mothers and 13% of the infants). None of the other genes analysed was found in any sample. Our results suggest that genes carrying antibiotic resistance are common in the environment, as even healthy breast-fed infants with no direct or indirect previous exposure to antibiotics harbour these genes.200616965348
340090.9999Chicken liver is a potential reservoir of bacteriophages and phage-derived particles containing antibiotic resistance genes. Poultry meat production is one of the most important agri-food industries in the world. The selective pressure exerted by widespread prophylactic or therapeutic use of antibiotics in intensive chicken farming favours the development of drug resistance in bacterial populations. Chicken liver, closely connected with the intestinal tract, has been directly involved in food-borne infections and found to be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter and Salmonella. In this study, 74 chicken livers, divided into sterile and non-sterile groups, were analysed, not only for microbial indicators but also for the presence of phages and phage particles containing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Both bacteria and phages were detected in liver tissues, including those dissected under sterile conditions. The phages were able to infect Escherichia coli and showed a Siphovirus morphology. The chicken livers contained from 10(3) to 10(6) phage particles per g, which carried a range of ARGs (bla(TEM) , bla(CTx-M-1) , sul1, qnrA, armA and tetW) detected by qPCR. The presence of phages in chicken liver, mostly infecting E. coli, was confirmed by metagenomic analysis, although this technique was not sufficiently sensitive to identify ARGs. In addition, ARG-carrying phages were detected in chicken faeces by qPCR in a previous study of the group. Comparison of the viromes of faeces and liver showed a strong coincidence of species, which suggests that the phages found in the liver originate in faeces. These findings suggests that phages, like bacteria, can translocate from the gut to the liver, which may therefore constitute a potential reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes.202235485188
3392100.9999Coselection for resistance to multiple late-generation human therapeutic antibiotics encoded on tetracycline resistance plasmids captured from uncultivated stream and soil bacteria. AIMS: Transmissible plasmids captured from stream and soil bacteria conferring resistance to tetracycline in Pseudomonas were evaluated for linked resistance to antibiotics used in the treatment of human infections. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cells released from stream sediments and soils were conjugated with a rifampicin-resistant, plasmid-free Pseudomonas putida recipient and selected on tetracycline and rifampicin. Each transconjugant contained a single 50-80 kb plasmid. Resistance to 11 antibiotics, in addition to tetracycline, was determined for the stream transconjugants using a modification of the Stokes disc diffusion antibiotic susceptibility assay. Nearly half of plasmids conferred resistance to six or more antibiotics. Resistance to streptomycin, gentamicin, and/or ticarcillin was conferred by a majority of the plasmids, and resistance to additional human clinical use antibiotics such as piperacillin/tazobactam, ciprofloxacin and aztreonam was observed. MICs of 16 antibiotics for representative sediment and soil transconjugants revealed large increases, relative to the Ps. putida recipient, for 11 of 16 antibiotics tested, including the expanded spectrum antibiotics cefotaxime and ceftazidime, as well as piperacillin/tazobactam, lomefloxacin and levofloxacin. CONCLUSIONS: Resistance to multiple antibiotics-including those typically used in clinical Pseudomonas and enterobacterial infections-can be conferred by transmissible plasmids in streams and soils. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Selective pressure exerted by the use of one antibiotic, such as the common agricultural antibiotic tetracycline, may result in the persistence of linked genes conferring resistance to important human clinical antibiotics. This may impact the spread of resistance to human use antibiotics even in the absence of direct selection.201424797476
3387110.9999Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Mediterranean Sea. Seawater could be considered a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. In this communication, we evaluated the presence of bacterial strains in seawater collected from different coasts of Sicily by combining microbiological and molecular methods. Specifically, we isolated viable bacteria that were tested for their antibiotic resistance profile and detected both antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes. Both antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, Vibrio and Aeromonas, and specific antibiotic resistance genes were found in the seawater samples. Alarming levels of resistance were determined towards cefazolin, streptomycin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, and mainly genes conferring resistance to β-lactamic and sulfonamide antibiotics were detected. This survey, on the one hand, presents a picture of the actual situation, showing the pollution status of the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, and, on the other hand, can be considered as a baseline to be used as a reference time for future analysis.202235326795
4609120.9999The importance of integrons for development and propagation of resistance in Shigella: the case of Latin America. In Latin America, the disease burden of shigellosis is found to coexist with the rapid and rampant spread of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. The molecular basis of antibiotic resistance lies within genetic elements such as plasmids, transposons, integrons, genomic islands, etc., which are found in the bacterial genome. Integrons are known to acquire, exchange, and express genes within gene cassettes and it is hypothesized that they play a significant role in the transmission of multidrug resistance genes in several Gram-negative bacteria including Shigella. A few studies have described antibiotic resistance genes and integrons among multidrug resistant Shigella isolates found in Latin America. For example, in Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, class 1 and class 2 integrons have been detected among multidrug resistant strains of Shigella; this phenomenon is more frequently observed in S. flexneri isolates that are resistant to trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, streptomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. The gene cassette sul2, which is frequently detected in Shigella strains resistant to the sulfonamides, suggests that the sulfonamide-resistant phenotype can be explained by the presence of the sul2 genes independent of the integron class detected. It is to be noted that sul3 was negative in all isolates analyzed in these studies. The high frequency of sulfonamide (as encoded by sul2) and trimethoprim resistance is likely to be a result of the recurrent use of trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole as a popular regimen for the treatment of shigellosis. The observed resistance profiles of Shigella strains confirm that ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole are ineffective as therapeutic options. In-depth information regarding antibiotic resistance mechanism in this pathogen is needed in order to develop suitable intervention strategies. There is a pressing need for regional and local antimicrobial resistance profiling of Shigella to be included as a part of the public health strategy.201627528086
3597130.9998Evidence for extensive resistance gene transfer among Bacteroides spp. and among Bacteroides and other genera in the human colon. Transfer of antibiotic resistance genes by conjugation is thought to play an important role in the spread of resistance. Yet virtually no information is available about the extent to which such horizontal transfers occur in natural settings. In this paper, we show that conjugal gene transfer has made a major contribution to increased antibiotic resistance in Bacteroides species, a numerically predominant group of human colonic bacteria. Over the past 3 decades, carriage of the tetracycline resistance gene, tetQ, has increased from about 30% to more than 80% of strains. Alleles of tetQ in different Bacteroides species, with one exception, were 96 to 100% identical at the DNA sequence level, as expected if horizontal gene transfer was responsible for their spread. Southern blot analyses showed further that transfer of tetQ was mediated by a conjugative transposon (CTn) of the CTnDOT type. Carriage of two erythromycin resistance genes, ermF and ermG, rose from <2 to 23% and accounted for about 70% of the total erythromycin resistances observed. Carriage of tetQ and the erm genes was the same in isolates taken from healthy people with no recent history of antibiotic use as in isolates obtained from patients with Bacteroides infections. This finding indicates that resistance transfer is occurring in the community and not just in clinical environments. The high percentage of strains that are carrying these resistance genes in people who are not taking antibiotics is consistent with the hypothesis that once acquired, these resistance genes are stably maintained in the absence of antibiotic selection. Six recently isolated strains carried ermB genes. Two were identical to erm(B)-P from Clostridium perfringens, and the other four had only one to three mismatches. The nine strains with ermG genes had DNA sequences that were more than 99% identical to the ermG of Bacillus sphaericus. Evidently, there is a genetic conduit open between gram-positive bacteria, including bacteria that only pass through the human colon, and the gram-negative Bacteroides species. Our results support the hypothesis that extensive gene transfer occurs among bacteria in the human colon, both within the genus Bacteroides and among Bacteroides species and gram-positive bacteria.200111157217
3703140.9998Antibiotic resistance patterns of metal-tolerant bacteria isolated from an estuary. Estuarine bacteria isolated on metal-containing media were also found to be antibiotic resistant; ampicillin and chloramphenicol were the antibiotics to which resistance was most common. Patterns of antibiotic resistance were found associated with a variety of taxa.1977921251
3389150.9998Isolation and characterization of integron-containing bacteria without antibiotic selection. The emergence of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic and commensal bacteria has become a serious problem worldwide. The use and overuse of antibiotics in a number of settings are contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The class 1 and 2 integrase genes (intI1 and intI2, respectively) were identified in mixed bacterial cultures enriched from bovine feces by growth in buffered peptone water (BPW) followed by integrase-specific PCR. Integrase-positive bacterial colonies from the enrichment cultures were then isolated by using hydrophobic grid membrane filters and integrase-specific gene probes. Bacterial clones isolated by this technique were then confirmed to carry integrons by further testing by PCR and DNA sequencing. Integron-associated antibiotic resistance genes were detected in bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Aeromonas spp., Proteus spp., Morganella morganii, Shewanella spp., and urea-positive Providencia stuartii isolates from bovine fecal samples without the use of selective enrichment media containing antibiotics. Streptomycin and trimethoprim resistance were commonly associated with integrons. The advantages conferred by this methodology are that a wide variety of integron-containing bacteria may be simultaneously cultured in BPW enrichments and culture biases due to antibiotic selection can be avoided. Rapid and efficient identification, isolation, and characterization of antibiotic resistance-associated integrons are possible by this protocol. These methods will facilitate greater understanding of the factors that contribute to the presence and transfer of integron-associated antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial isolates from red meat production animals.200414982773
5650160.9998High-level trimethoprim resistance in urinary bacteria. The results of a three year evaluation of the incidence and type of trimethoprim resistance in pathogens responsible for significant bacteriuria in a general hospital in Edinburgh UK, are presented and compared to results of a previous study. In the present study, trimethoprim resistance was 50% more frequent in bacteria isolated from men and nearly twice as frequent in bacteria from elderly patients. However, the proportion of trimethoprim resistant strains fell annually when resistance was measured at trimethoprim concentrations of both 10 mg/l and 1000 mg/l. The proportion of strains able to transfer trimethoprim resistance also fell by half, and there was some movement of trimethoprim resistance transposons into the bacterial chromosome. These results suggest that migration of high-level trimethoprim resistance genes into the permanent location of the bacterial chromosome is occurring.19863527699
4721170.9998Antimicrobial resistances do not affect colonization parameters of intestinal E. coli in a small piglet group. BACKGROUND: Although antimicrobial resistance and persistence of resistant bacteria in humans and animals are major health concerns worldwide, the impact of antimicrobial resistance on bacterial intestinal colonization in healthy domestic animals has only been rarely studied. We carried out a retrospective analysis of the antimicrobial susceptibility status and the presence of resistance genes in intestinal commensal E. coli clones from clinically healthy pigs from one production unit with particular focus on effects of pheno- and/or genotypic resistance on different nominal and numerical intestinal colonization parameters. In addition, we compared the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance phenotypes and genotypes with the occurrence of virulence associated genes typical for extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. RESULTS: In general, up to 72.1% of all E. coli clones were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole or tetracycline with a variety of different resistance genes involved. There was no significant correlation between one of the nominal or numerical colonization parameters and the absence or presence of antimicrobial resistance properties or resistance genes. However, there were several statistically significant associations between the occurrence of single resistance genes and single virulence associated genes. CONCLUSION: The demonstrated resistance to the tested antibiotics might not play a dominant role for an intestinal colonization success in pigs in the absence of antimicrobial drugs, or cross-selection of other colonization factors e.g. virulence associated genes might compensate "the cost of antibiotic resistance". Nevertheless, resistant strains are not outcompeted by susceptible bacteria in the porcine intestine.200919814790
3382180.9998Patterns and persistence of antibiotic resistance in faecal indicator bacteria from freshwater recreational beaches. AIMS: This study was conducted to determine antibiotic susceptibility patterns among the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), Escherichia coli and enterococci, and to determine the potential for freshwater beaches to serve as reservoirs of resistance genes where transfer of resistant phenotypes takes place or de novo resistance may evolve. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and forty-seven E. coli and 150 enterococci collected from sand and water at recreational beaches along Lake Huron, Michigan, USA were screened against commonly used antibiotics. Resistance was apparent in both E. coli (19% resistant) and enterococci (65% resistant). Antibiotic-resistant E. coli were capable of growing in beach sand microcosms and were able to transfer a plasmid-encoded kanamycin-resistance gene in sand microcosms. Furthermore, resistant phenotypes were stable in the sand environment even in the absence of the corresponding antibiotic. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic-resistant FIB were prevalent and persistent in the beach habitat. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Active populations of FIB at beaches express antibiotic resistance phenotypes and have the ability to transfer antibiotic resistance. These human-associated bacteria may be intermediaries in the movement of resistance between environmental and clinical reservoirs.201424698413
3405190.9998Practical implications of erythromycin resistance gene diversity on surveillance and monitoring of resistance. Use of antibiotics in human and animal medicine has applied selective pressure for the global dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is of interest to develop strategies to mitigate the continued amplification and transmission of resistance genes in environmental reservoirs such as farms, hospitals and watersheds. However, the efficacy of mitigation strategies is difficult to evaluate because it is unclear which resistance genes are important to monitor, and which primers to use to detect those genes. Here, we evaluated the diversity of one type of macrolide antibiotic resistance gene (erm) in one type of environment (manure) to determine which primers would be most informative to use in a mitigation study of that environment. We analyzed all known erm genes and assessed the ability of previously published erm primers to detect the diversity. The results showed that all known erm resistance genes group into 66 clusters, and 25 of these clusters (40%) can be targeted with primers found in the literature. These primers can target 74%-85% of the erm gene diversity in the manures analyzed.201829346541