Representatives of the species Ralstonia pickettii and R. mannitolilytica are very common in aquatic environments, being associated with some tolerance to disinfection processes. Although not very virulent, these bacteria have been described as responsible for some nosocomial infections (originated in hospitals). The aim of this study was to verify if resistance to the antibiotic gentamicin, a variable characteristic for the group of isolates under study, could be associated with a greater tolerance to metals or disinfectants.

The results suggest that when bacterial isolates are resistant to gentamicin or to other antibiotics of the same group (aminoglycosides), they also present characteristics that allow them to be better adapted to the environment, such as a greater tolerance to arsenite or hydrogen peroxide. This means that these bacteria become more difficult to fight.

The full publication is available at this address: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12223-018-0632-1