The Presence of Metals and Antibiotics Resistant Bacteria in Arable Manure Soils

Abstract

Heavy metals and antibiotics resistance are intense public interest owing to their pollution in the environment and potential deleterious effects on human health. A total of 15 isolates of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli (50 manure garden soils) were tested for their resistance against certain heavy metals and antibiotics. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of Pb2+, Co2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ for each isolate were also determined. B. subtilis, B. cereus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli exhibited high tolerance to minimum inhibitory concentrations of 3,200 mu g/ml for Pb2+, 400 mu g/ml for Cu2+ and Co2+, and 100 mu g/ml for Zn2+ in agar plates. All the isolates were highly resistant to lead and they showed 100% growth in 3,200 mu g/ml concentration. It was observed that all isolates were resistant to a wide range of antibiotics namely clindamycin, ceftazidime, aztreonam and vancomycin.