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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 6085-6090, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01036-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Meta-Analysis of Experimental Data Concerning Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Transfer Rates during Conjugation{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Paul R. Hunter,1* Dawn C. Wilkinson,1 Louise A. Catling,1 and Gary C. Barker2

School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom,1 Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UA, United Kingdom2

Received 8 May 2008/ Accepted 7 August 2008

This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis of published transfer rates of antimicrobial resistance genes. A total of 34 papers were identified, of which 28 contained rates estimated in relation to either donor or recipient bacterial counts. The published rates ranged from 10–2 to 10–9. Generalized linear modeling was conducted to identify the factors influencing this variation. Highly significant associations between transfer frequency and both the donor (P = 1.2 x 10–4) and recipient (P = 1.0 x 10–5) genera were found. Also significant was whether the donor and recipient strains were of the same genus (P = 0.023) and the nature of the genetic element (P = 0.0019). The type of experiment, in vivo or in vitro, approached statistical significance (P = 0.12). Parameter estimates from a general linear model were used to estimate the probability of transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes to potential pathogens in the intestine following oral ingestion. The mean logarithms of these probabilities are in the range of [–7.0, –3.1]. These probability distributions are suitable for use in the quantitative assessment of the risk of transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes to the intestinal flora of humans and animals.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom. Phone: 01603 591004. Fax: 01603 593752. E-mail: paul.hunter{at}uea.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 15 August 2008.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2008, p. 6085-6090, Vol. 74, No. 19
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01036-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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