Antimicrobial resistance not related to 1,2,3 integrons and Superintegron in Vibrio spp. isolated from seawater sample of Lima (Peru).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microorganisms has been attributed to integrons, which have the ability to capture antimicrobial resistance gene cassettes and express them in their hosts. 170 strains of Vibrio spp. were isolated from Lima (Peru) seawater samples and identified by biochemical tests and PCR. AMR profiles were generated using 15 standard antibiotics. The presence of class 1, 2 and 3 integrons and Superintegron in these strains were also investigated by PCR. Ten species of Vibrio were identified with V. alginolyticus the most frequent. All strains were resistant to antibiotics, especially to penicillin group. No resistance to norfloxacin or tetracycline was observed. Class 1, 2 and 3 integrons were not found, only one Superintegron containing the mutT gene was identified in V. cholerae L22 strain. This indicated that AMR is not related to integrons as mentioned previously and that these strains can be reservoirs of resistance genes in marine environments.