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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
Investigating AHL-associated quorum sensing impact on antibiotic-driven resistome expansion in anaerobic fermentation
Qin Zhou1, Xiangyue Xu1, Kun Mi2
1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; MOA Key Laboratory for Detection of Veterinary Drug Residues, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.
Abstract:
Previous studies have demonstrated that quorum sensing (QS) can mitigate the impact of antibiotics on environmental microbial communities. Metagenomic analysis was used to examine AHL effects on the resistome in anaerobic fermentation microbiomes under antibiotic stress in this research. AHLs reduced ARGs, MGEs, and phage abundance compared to antibiotic-only samples following the addition of high concentrations (500 nmol/L) of AHLs. Phages and integrons played pivotal roles in shaping the resistome. Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were key targets affected by AHLs. Both the assembled environmental metagenomes and the complete genomes of isolated bacteria consistently support the broad potential of quorum-sensing systems in mediating the dissemination or regulation of resistome spreading. Quorum sensing systems are very likely to affect microbial community resistomes by regulating the phageome. These insights are valuable for refining fermentation and waste management processes, offering potential in environmental restoration and possibly curbing the spread of resistance genes.
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