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. 2024 Aug 22;12(8):1742.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12081742.

Distribution and Characterization of Quaternary Ammonium Biocides Resistant Bacteria in Different Soils, in South-Western China

Ziyi Guo  1   2 , Cunli Qin  1   2 , Lilan Zhang  1   2
Affiliations

Distribution and Characterization of Quaternary Ammonium Biocides Resistant Bacteria in Different Soils, in South-Western China

Ziyi Guo et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are active ingredients in hundreds of disinfectants for controlling the epidemic of infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), and are also widely used in shale gas exploitation. The occurrence of QAC-resistant bacteria in the environment could enlarge the risk of sterilization failure, which is not fully understood. In this study, QAC-resistant bacteria were enumerated and characterized in 25 soils collected from shale gas exploitation areas. Total counts of QAC-resistant bacteria ranged from 6.81 × 103 to 4.48 × 105 cfu/g, accounting for 1.59% to 29.13% of the total bacteria. In total, 29 strains were further purified and identified as Lysinibacillus, Bacillus, and Klebsiella genus. There, bacteria covering many pathogenic bacteria showed different QACs tolerance with MIC (minimum inhibition concentration) varying from 4 mg/L to 64 mg/L and almost 58.6% of isolates have not previously been found to tolerate QACs. Meanwhile, the QAC-resistant strains in the produced water of shale gas were also identified. Phylogenetic trees showed that the resistant species in soil and produced water are distinctly different. That is the first time the distribution and characterization of QAC-resistant bacteria in the soil environment has been analyzed.

Keywords: QAC-resistant bacteria; QACs; antibiotic-resistant bacteria; produced water; soil.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The diagram of soil sample points.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Concentration and composition of QACs in 25 soil samples. (a). The concentration of QACs in soil; (b). The proportion of different types of QACs in soil.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Spatial distribution of number (a) and proportion (b) of QAC-resistant bacteria of soil samples. (S1 to S22 were around the drilling wells, while S23 to S25 were not adjacent to the drilling wells).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlations among the proportion of QACs resistant bacteria, physicochemical properties, and heavy metals in soil. * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level, ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level, *** Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The proportion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from 69 QAC-resistant bacteria. (a). Proportion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 48 QAC-resistant bacteria from soil. (b). Proportion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 21 QAC-resistant bacteria from produced water.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Phylogenetic tree of selected isolates was constructed based on the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA. Bootstrap values were only shown for nodes that had >50% support in a bootstrap analysis of 1000 replicates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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