INTEC research establishes baseline on bacterial resistance profiles in the Yaque River basins

 

SANTO DOMINGO – Two studies conducted by researchers, graduates and students of Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) determined that in the Yaque del Norte and Yaque del Sur river basins there are bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to counteract them.

 

Through genomic characterization, as the detailed observation of each part of the bacteria is known, researchers from the Food Safety laboratory at INTEC identified what capabilities they have and how they interact with their environment.

 

The findings, published in international scientific journals, provide technical data on the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, which represents a tool to strengthen epidemiological surveillance systems in the country.

 

The study of the Yaque del Norte River basin was led by researcher María F. Chevalier-Alba, under the supervision of Dr. Edian Franco, and consisted of the analysis of culturable Gram-negative bacilli along the river. The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology They document the identification of 112 resistance genes distributed across various common bacterial genera in aquatic environments.

 

Additionally, a variant of the bacterium Acinetobacter schindleri, provisionally named HOEPLIER, was identified, exhibiting genetic characteristics distinct from previously recorded strains. The research also detected the presence of DNA structures capable of transferring genetic information between different bacterial species as part of a natural process in river ecosystems; these structures are called plasmids, such as the IncY type.

 

In parallel, a team including David Tavares Martins, Oscar V. Cardenas, and Dr. Edian Franco, among other collaborators, published in the American Society for Microbiology the genome sequence of a specific strain of Klebsiella variicola called YSP4 INTEC isolated on the Yaque del Sur River.

 

Genomic analysis of this isolate revealed that the strain possesses genes related to resistance to various classes of antibiotics, heavy metals, and biocides. Genetic mechanisms linked to plant colonization were also identified, which could explain the persistence of this species in agricultural environments and its interaction with the area's ecosystems.

 

Both studies are based on the approach of One Health which integrates environmental, animal, and human health. The research does not report current epidemiological outbreaks, but rather establishes a scientific database for genomic surveillance, allowing public health authorities to have a point of comparison to monitor the evolution of antimicrobial resistance over time.

 

This data also provides technical evidence for water resource management in relation to wastewater treatment and allows for a better understanding of how the quality of irrigation water can influence the microbiota of crops for food safety purposes.

 

This scientific work is the result of technical cooperation between INTEC, the Institute of Innovation in Biotechnology and Industry (IBII), and the Federal University of Pará, Brazil. This data represents an academic contribution to the knowledge of environmental microbiology in the Dominican Republic and is available to government agencies for the design of public policies based on scientific evidence.

 

Bacterial resistance is a natural process that occurs when bacteria adapt to survive the effects of drugs designed to kill them. This phenomenon does not mean that the human body becomes resistant to antibiotics, but rather that the bacteria change their internal instructions so that the drug stops working against them.

 

Studying this behavior in rivers allows scientists to anticipate and understand how these defense mechanisms move in nature before they reach hospital environments.