{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T13:37:45Z","timestamp":1785418665603,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Swiss Confederation through an Excellence award to Yves K\u00e9vin Brun","award":["2025.0433"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025.0433"]}]},{"name":"Research Strategic Fund of the HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01xkakk17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Endophytic and rhizosphere bacteria have considerable potential as bioinoculants for enhancing plant growth and improving soil health. However, despite their agricultural importance, their antibiotic resistance profiles remain poorly documented. This study assessed the antibiotic resistance of 31 bacterial strains isolated from the roots, cladodes, and rhizosphere of O. dillenii growing in the coastal zone of Benin. Antibiotic susceptibility was evaluated using the Kirby\u2013Bauer disk diffusion method according to CA-SFM\/EUCAST guidelines. Depending on the bacterial genus, each strain was tested against 7 to 12 antibiotics selected from a panel of 19 antibiotics representing 14 antimicrobial classes. The results showed moderate resistance of 40\u201360% for linezolid and clindamycin. Low resistance of 10\u201339% was recorded for erythromycin and vancomycin. In contrast, the bacterial resistance to Tetracycline, Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Fusidic Acid, Gentamicin, Quinupristin\u2013dalfopristin, Rifampicin, and Trimethoprim\u2013Sulfamethoxazole remained extremely low (&lt;10%). No bacterial resistance was detected against Ampicillin, Amoxicillin\u2013clavulanic Acid, Ceftriaxone, Cefoxitin, Cefotaxime, Norfloxacin, or Imipenem. Overall, 9 out of 31 endophytic strains (29.03%) exhibited multidrug resistance. Therefore, this finding provides valuable biosafety data for the selection and registration of bacterial biofertilizers and identifies several promising strains for future agricultural applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14071509","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T11:43:34Z","timestamp":1783683814000},"page":"1509","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Antibiotic Resistance Profiles of Bacterial Strains Isolated from the Roots, Cladodes and Rhizosphere of Opuntia dillenii (KerGawl.) Haw (Cactaceae) in the Coastal Zone of Benin"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2220-045X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yves K\u00e9vin","family":"Brun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Plants and Pathogens Group, Research Institute Land Nature Landscape, HEPIA Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 150 Route de Presinge, 1254 Jussy, Switzerland"},{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiology, Food Technology and Phytopathology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi 05 P.O. Box 1604, Benin"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3920-2019","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agossou Damien Pac\u00f4me","family":"Noumavo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiology, Food Technology and Phytopathology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi 05 P.O. Box 1604, Benin"},{"name":"Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Typing in Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou 04 P.O. Box 1107, Benin"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6603-6556","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julien","family":"Colombet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plants and Pathogens Group, Research Institute Land Nature Landscape, HEPIA Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 150 Route de Presinge, 1254 Jussy, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9769-7400","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bawa","family":"Boya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Typing in Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou 04 P.O. Box 1107, Benin"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7707-8816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bartholomew Saanu","family":"Adeleke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, P.M.B. 001, Iyin-Ekiti 360101, Nigeria"},{"name":"Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8630-3798","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haziz","family":"Sina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Typing in Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou 04 P.O. Box 1107, Benin"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9977-9952","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fran\u00e7ois","family":"Lefort","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plants and Pathogens Group, Research Institute Land Nature Landscape, HEPIA Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 150 Route de Presinge, 1254 Jussy, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Madawala, H.M.S.P. (2021). Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as Biofertilizers: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects. Biofertilizers, Elsevier.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-821667-5.00029-4"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mahdi, I., Fahsi, N., Hijri, M., and Sobeh, M. (2022). 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