The phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic susceptibility of vaginal Lactobacillus with potential probiotic properties isolated from healthy women in northern Iran

Hakimeh Zare; Rabeeh Izadi Amol; Fatemeh Zaboli; Maysam Rezapour; Hami Kaboosi

doi:10.18502/ijm.v16i2.15356

Hakimeh Zare Department of Microbiology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
Rabeeh Izadi Amol Department of Microbiology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
Fatemeh Zaboli Department of Microbiology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
Maysam Rezapour Department of Paramedicine, Amol School of Paramedical Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
Hami Kaboosi Department of Microbiology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v16i2.15356

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility; Iranian women; Probiotic; Resistance genes; Vaginal Lactobacillus

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This study assesses the antibiotic susceptibility of vaginal Lactobacillus strains and provides data for determining the prevalence of certain antibiotic resistance genes in the new strains of lactobacilli serving as probiot- ics and selected from healthy women in northern Iran.

Materials and Methods: One hundred premenopausal non-pregnant women in the reproductive age range of 22-50 years participated in this study. The potential probiotic vaginal lactobacilli used in the study included Lactobacillus crispatus (34.2%), Lactobacillus gasseri (26.3%), Lactobacillus johnsonii (10.5%), Lactobacillus acidophilus (15.7%) and Lactoba- cillus jensenii (13.1%). The phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility of the strains was determined by E test and DNA extraction and PCR were performed to examine the antibiotic resistance genes.

Results: 38 potential probiotic vaginal lactobacilli were isolated. All the strains of lactobacilli were resistant to metronida- zole and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and all of the strains were susceptible to ampicillin and chloramphenicol antibiotics. The results showed that ermB, ermC, and ermA genes were observed in the strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Metronida- zole resistance (nim) gene was also found in one strain of Lactobacillus crispatus and Lactobacillus johnsonii. The amino- glycoside resistance (aac6'-aph2") gene was observed in 8% of the strains. Also, tetM, tetK and tetW genes were found in more than 80% of the Lactobacillus strains.

Conclusion: The antimicrobial susceptibility of vaginal lactobacilli is an important criterion for establishing whether or not the organism is a probiotic. A high level of resistance to clinical antibiotics, such as metronidazole and aminoglycosides, was demonstrated. Antibiotic resistant genes also appeared widely in vaginal lactobacilli.