Resistance of potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria of African and European origin to antimicrobials: Determination and transferability of the resistance genes to other bacteria

Variations were observed and high levels of intrinsic resistance were found among the tested species. Positive amplicons were obtained for resistance genes encoding aminoglycoside (aph(3′)-III, aadA, aadE) and tetracycline (tet(S)) from isolates from Europe and macrolide (erm(B)) from an isolate from Africa. However, only the erm(B) gene found in Lb. reuteri L4: 12002 from Africa contained a homologous sequence to previously published sequences. This gene could be transferred in vitro to enterococci. Higher prevalence of phenotypic resistance for aminoglycoside was found in isolates from Europe.