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The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in Escherichia coli isolated from retail meat samples in Henan Province, China. E. coli isolates were detected in 179 of 645 (27.7%) retail meat samples. Resistance of these isolates to antimicrobials was commonly observed, with 78.2% of isolates resistant to streptomycin, 74.3% resistant to tetracycline and 54.2% resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Of the 179 isolates, 30 (16.7%) expressed ESBL, with blaTEM-1 (n = 17) and bla(CTX-M-14) (n = 9) most commonly mediating the ESBL phenotype. PMQR genes were present in 14 isolates (7.8%), with qnr and aac(6')-Ib-cr detected alone or in combination in nine (5.0%) and seven isolates (3.9%), respectively. The qnr genes detected included qnrS1 (n = 5), qnrA1 (n = 3), and qnrB4 (n = 1). The qepA gene was absent among these isolates. CTX-M-14 was the most prevalent ESBL type among the PMQR-positive isolates. The qnr and aac(6')-Ib-cr genes were found to co-reside and be co-transferred with blaCTX-M-14 or blaTEM-1 in five isolates. Our data suggest that retail meat may act as a reservoir for multi-resistant E. coli and may facilitate the dissemination of resistance genes.

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This investigation demonstrates that programmed cell death (PCD) in a cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa, resulting from allelopathic stress induced by a submerged macrophyte, Myriophyllum spicatum, in a coculture system. The hallmarks of PCD, caspase-3-like protease activity, DNA fragmentation, and destruction of cell ultrastructure, as well as intracellular PCD signaling radicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide (NO), were measured in M. aeruginosa cells co-cultured with M. spicatum for 7 days. The results showed a dose-response relationship between M. spicatum biomass and M. aeruginosa mortality. A caspase-3-like protease was activated and elevated from day 3. Thylakoid disintegration, cytoplasmic vacuolation, and fuzzy nuclear zone were observed by transmission electron microscopy, and distinct DNA fragmentation was detected in M. aeruginosa cells at a M. spicatum biomass of 6.0 g fresh weight (FW) L −1 during the 7 days. Allelochemicals of total phenolic compounds (TPCs) were determined in co-culture water, and the concentration increased with increasing of M. spicatum biomass and co-culture time. Compared with the level of ROS production in the control group, a significant overproduction of ROS was detected in M. aeruginosa cells in the treatment group, and this was positively correlated with TPC concentration. Furthermore, the level of intracellular NO increased with the percent mortality of M. aeruginosa. The results indicated that a PCD pathway was induced in the cyanobacterium M. aeruginosa when co-cultured with the submerged macrophyte M. spicatum.

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