Curing of Citrobacter spp. Strains Antibiotic Resistance Harboring Plasmids Using Novel Physical, Chemical and Natural Substances

Abstract

T HE CURRENT study was conducted on four isolates of Citrobacter freundii identified previously molecularly and registered in the Global GenBank under the names ALGH1(accession No. OQ703592), ALGH2(accession No. OQ703593, ALGH3 (accession No. OQ703594), and ALGH4(accession No. OQ703595), Antibiotics profile analysis was achieved against 12 antibiotics, all isolates showed 100% resistance to (tetracycline, Doxycycline and oxytetracycline), whereas the isolates were sensitive to Amikacin, Trimethoprim, Nalidixic acid Norfloxaine, Levofloxacine and Ciprofloxacin. Curing experiments of these plasmids were achieved by physical( high temperature), chemical (urea) and natural substances by using both onion and garlic powder in three concentration (1%,5%,10%), urea was effective curing plasmids at concentrations of 200 and 400 µg/ml. 45°C successed in curing resistance plasmids. To our knowledge this study is considered the first one which recorded the using of onion and garlic powder in plasmid curing. As a result, the garlic in both the 5% and 10% concentrations was successful in curing the genes of both doxycycline and Tetracycline, whereas the onion failed in all concentrations. For all ALGH1,ALGH2&ALGH4 strains of the Citrobacter , while sensitivity appeared all bacterial isolate spresented against (Oxytetracycline) while the garlic as a curing agent at a concentration of (10%) resulted in the curing of antibiotic resistance genes (Tetracycline, Oxytetracycline, Doxycycline). This study aimed to cure plasmids from Citrobacter strains by using natural substances of onion and garlic at varying concentrations.