The invasive MenC cc103 lineage with penicillin reduced susceptibility persisting in Brazil.

Penicillin is the antibiotic of choice for the treatment of meningococcal infections, and mutations in penA gene are involved with reduced susceptibility (penI) emergence to this antibiotic. This study aimed to characterize the penA allelic diversity, their association with penI phenotype and distribution among prevalent meningococci serogroups in Brazil. The entire penA from 49 invasive strains of distinct serogroups circulating in Brazil for more than two decades were obtained by PCR and sequencing. Additionally, the penA from 22 publicly available complete Neisseria meningitidis genomes from Brazil were included in the study. The allelic diversity was determined and a genetic tree was built using the penA sequence alignment. The penicillin MIC was obtained by the E-Test method. In general, the identified penA alleles correlated with the observed penI phenotype. The canonical penA1 was the most prevalent allele, however, several altered penA were also identified in strains presenting increased penicillin MICs. It was identified a new penA amino acid position (residue 480) that possibly influence the penicillin MIC in some strains. Interestingly, the altered penA14 was found in penI invasive MenC cc103 strains spread in Brazil and persisting since 2011, indicating that the biological cost imposed by penI phenotype can be ameliorated by particular features present in this lineage, which represents an additional public health threat.

Metagenomic signatures of a tropical mining-impacted stream reveal complex microbial and metabolic networks.

Bacteria from aquatic ecosystems significantly contribute to biogeochemical cycles, but details of their community structure in tropical mining-impacted environments remain unexplored. In this study, we analyzed a bacterial community from circumneutral-pH tropical stream sediment by 16S rRNA and shotgun deep sequencing. Carrapatos stream sediment, which has been exposed to metal stress due to gold and iron mining (21 [g Fe]/kg), revealed a diverse community, with predominance of Proteobacteria (39.4%), Bacteroidetes (12.2%), and Parcubacteria (11.4%). Among Proteobacteria, the most abundant reads were assigned to neutrophilic iron-oxidizing taxa, such as Gallionella, Sideroxydans, and Mariprofundus, which are involved in Fe cycling and harbor several metal resistance genes. Functional analysis revealed a large number of genes participating in nitrogen and methane metabolic pathways despite the low concentrations of inorganic nitrogen in the Carrapatos stream. Our findings provide important insights into bacterial community interactions in a mining-impacted environment.

Metagenome of a microbial community inhabiting a metal-rich tropical stream sediment.

Here, we describe the metagenome and functional composition of a microbial community in a historically metal-contaminated tropical freshwater stream sediment. The sediment was collected from the Mina Stream located in the Iron Quadrangle (Brazil), one of the world's largest mining regions. Environmental DNA was extracted and was sequenced using SOLiD technology, and a total of 7.9 Gbp was produced. A taxonomic profile that was obtained by comparison to the Greengenes database revealed a complex microbial community with a dominance of Proteobacteria and Parvarcheota. Contigs were recruited by bacterial and archaeal genomes, especially Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii and Nitrosopumilus maritimus, and their presence implicated them in the process of N cycling in the Mina Stream sediment (MSS). Functional reconstruction revealed a large, diverse set of genes for ammonium assimilation and ammonification. These processes have been implicated in the maintenance of the N cycle and the health of the sediment. SEED subsystems functional annotation unveiled a high degree of diversity of metal resistance genes, suggesting that the prokaryotic community is adapted to metal contamination. Furthermore, a high metabolic diversity was detected in the MSS, suggesting that the historical arsenic contamination is no longer affecting the prokaryotic community. These results expand the current knowledge of the microbial taxonomic and functional composition of tropical metal-contaminated freshwater sediments.