Development of a stable microbial community for the study of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in a continuous culturing device
- 1Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major contributor to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microbial communities, particularly through conjugative plasmids. The dynamics of the spread of these plasmids in a susceptible microbial community requires a defined and controllable in vitro system, which is currently lacking from existing laboratory evolution systems. Here we describe the development of TriComm, an engineered microbial community of three strains with complementary amino acid auxotrophies, maintained in continuous culture under real-time optical and fluorescence monitoring. We show that two conjugative plasmids carrying resistance genes (blaOXA-48 and mcr-1) generally rescued TriComm from collapse under antimicrobial treatment, and that this protection was dependent on conjugative transfer. Community composition remained stable across most conditions, including after the AMR plasmid had spread through the population. Through mathematical modeling we predict that modulating both drug efficacy and conjugation rate can lead to the collapse of the community, suggesting potential strategies to limit the spread of AMR via HGT.
Related
- Rapid Antimicrobial Resistance Decline Coupled with Microbial Community Shifts in Sewage Polluted River Mesocosms
- Urbanization Impacts the Environmental Microbial Community and Its Antibiotic Phenotypic Resistance Potential by Reshaping the Diversity and Network Complexity
- Persistent but variable effect of experimental laboratory burns on microbial community resistance, resilience, and function across contrasting boreal forest soils
- Effects of a community-based intervention bundle on household transmission of extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in rural Burkina Faso to target community-level drivers of antimicrobial resistance in sub-Saharan Africa: a cluster-randomised trial
- Microbial community responses to ceramic amendment in coastal sediments of a seasonally hypoxic bay
BibTeX
@misc{vu2026development,
title = {{Development of a stable microbial community for the study of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in a continuous culturing device}},
author = {T.-H. Vu and T. Alonso-Vasquez and E. Sestini and A. Masoni and K. Grabowski and C. Andrieu and L. Laganenka and F. Di Patti and M. Fondi and M. Galardini},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.13.758845},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.13.758845v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Development of a stable microbial community for the study of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in a continuous culturing device
AU - T.-H. Vu
AU - T. Alonso-Vasquez
AU - E. Sestini
AU - A. Masoni
AU - K. Grabowski
AU - C. Andrieu
AU - L. Laganenka
AU - F. Di Patti
AU - M. Fondi
AU - M. Galardini
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.13.758845
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.13.758845v1
AB - Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major contributor to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microbial communities, particularly through conjugative plasmids. The dynamics of the spread of these plasmids in a susceptible microbial community requires a defined and controllable in vitro system, which is currently lacking from existing laboratory evolution systems. Here we describe the development of TriComm, an engineered microbial community of three strains with complementary amino acid auxotrophies, maintained in continuous culture under real-time optical and fluorescence monitoring. We show that two conjugative plasmids carrying resistance genes (blaOXA-48 and mcr-1) generally rescued TriComm from collapse under antimicrobial treatment, and that this protection was dependent on conjugative transfer. Community composition remained stable across most conditions, including after the AMR plasmid had spread through the population. Through mathematical modeling we predict that modulating both drug efficacy and conjugation rate can lead to the collapse of the community, suggesting potential strategies to limit the spread of AMR via HGT.
ER -