Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF THE HELLENIC VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY, cilt.74, sa.2, ss.5641-5648, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
of the biggest problems in the modern world is environmental pollution, which affects all organ-isms, albeit at different levels. An important contributor to pollution comes in the form of stable and non-degradable heavy metal compounds produced from the use of heavy metals in a wide range of environments. Heavy metal pollu-tion, especially in the seas, is bioaccumulated in aquatic life and the food chain, causing heavy metal-related diseases. The most critical sign of heavy metal pollution in water is the resistance formed against heavy metals in bacteria living in these waters. Heavy metals resistance in E. coli isolated from 18 mussels and 16 shrimps was genotypically investigated in both plasmid and genomic DNA. Out of 34 E. coli isolates examined, 31 (1.17%) harbored heavy metal resistance genes. The presence of the pcoR gene was found in 2 isolates (5.88%), the merA gene in only one isolate (2.94%), and the mntR gene in 8 isolates (23.52%). While pcoR and merA were not observed together in any isolate, pcoR and mntR were detected together in the genetic material of 10 isolates (29.41%) and mntR and merA were de-tected together in the genetic material of seven isolates (20.58%). In three samples, all of the resistance genes against heavy metals were detected (8.82%).In this study, approximately 90% of the isolates carried one or more of the heavy metal resistance genes. This study shows the widespread distribution of heavy metal resistance genes in the isolates examined and reports that the extent to which this situation affects antibiotic resistance should be evaluated.