Seabirds as anthropization indicators in two different tropical biotopes: A One Health approach to the issue of antimicrobial resistance genes pollution in oceanic islands

Occurrence and Quantification of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Two Wild Seabird Species With Contrasting Behaviors

“…p = 0.032). This gene has been previously described in seabirds in Brazil (16), the United States (14,60), and Europe Europe (51,(61)(62)(63)(64). The TEM betalactamases confer resistance to cephalosporins and penicillins (65), one of the oldest and most widely used antimicrobial classes in humans and veterinary medicine (66,67), partialy explaining their dissemination in the tested seabirds.…”

“…The TEM betalactamases confer resistance to cephalosporins and penicillins (65), one of the oldest and most widely used antimicrobial classes in humans and veterinary medicine (66,67), partialy explaining their dissemination in the tested seabirds. Recently, a similar study in Brazil, that evaluated the microbiome of six species of wild seabirds (overall, 304 individuals), found that the bla TEM occurrence and percentage loads ranged from 0 to 25% and −8 to −0.6, respectively, and that the bla TEM prevalence was significantly higher in migratory in comparison with non-migratory species (16). Interestingly, despite the considerable differences regarding species and sampling size, herein we found higher bla TEM occurrence and mean load percentages in kelp gull and Magellanic penguin, and higher bla TEM occurrence in the nonmigratory synanthropic species (kelp gull).…”

“…Fresh fecal samples were immediately obtained by enema (16) in 25 physically restrained birds (14 kelp gulls and 11 Magellanic penguins) upon admission at the wildlife rehabilitation center (Associação R3 Animal, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil), and stored at −20 • C until analyses. All birds included in the study came directly from their rescue sites (beach), and did not receive previous veterinary care prior to their arrival at the center.…”

“…By acting as predators, scavengers and cross-ecosystem nutrient ancillaries, seabirds play important roles in the processes, function and resilience of island and marine ecosystems (12). Essentially, seabirds respond rapidly to environmental changes, and due to their behavior and population dynamics, are excellent sentinels of the marine ecosystem health, reflecting natural and anthropogenic changes to the environment (13), including pollution by ARGs (14)(15)(16). In seabirds, most ARGs studies have focused on synanthropic species, due to their proximity to anthropized areas and feeding habits, and relied on classic microbiological techniques (bacterial culture and sensitivity testing) (9,17,18).…”

“…In seabirds, most ARGs studies have focused on synanthropic species, due to their proximity to anthropized areas and feeding habits, and relied on classic microbiological techniques (bacterial culture and sensitivity testing) (9,17,18). Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that biological and ecological factors (e.g., migration and feeding niche) are also relevant to the issue of ARGs in wild birds (16,19,20). Additionally, only a small fraction of bacteria are cultivable (21,22).…”