细菌耐药性及兽药相关Bacterial resistance & Veterinary drug
Characterization of a blaCTX-M-3, blaKPC-2 and blaTEM-1B co-producing IncN plasmid in Escherichia coli of chicken origin
An extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Escherichia coli strain 258E was isolated from an anal swab sample of a chicken farm of Anhui province in China. Genomic analyses indicated that the strain 258E harbors an incompatibility group N (IncN) plasmid pEC258-3, which co-produces blaCTX-M-3, blaKPC-2, blaTEM-1B, qnrS1, aac(6')-Ib-cr, dfrA14, arr-3, and aac(6')-Ib3. Multiple genome arrangement analyses indicated that pEC258-3 is highly homologous with pCRKP-1-KPC discovered in Klebsiella pneumoniae from a patient. Furthermore, conjugation experiments proved that plasmid pEC258-3 can be transferred horizontally and may pose a significant potential threat in animals, community and hospital settings.
Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is an important zoonotic agent. Here, a virulence-attenuated strain M35246 derived from natural variation of wild-type SEZ ATCC35246 was found. M35246 showed a deletion of 25 contiguous genes as well as a loss-of-function mutation in covS. Subsequently, a 25-gene-deleted strain (ΔPI), a covS-mutant strain (McovS), and relevant complementary strains were constructed and investigated. M35246 and McovS were significantly less encapsulated and exhibited poorer anti-phagocytic capacity compared to wild-type SEZ. McovS was significantly more sensitive to β-lactams, aminoglycosides, macrolides, and lincosamides than wild-type SEZ. M35246, McovS, and ΔPI exhibited an increase in median lethal dose (LD50) in mice by 105, 105, and 5 times when compared to wild-type SEZ, respectively. Neither M35246 nor McovS were isolated from mice 48 h after being challenged with approximately 2 000 times the LD50 of wild-type SEZ. Transcriptome analysis showed that 668 significantly differentially expressed genes existed between McovS and wild-type SEZ. Numerous virulence factor-encoding genes and anabolic-related genes in McovS that were involved in anti-phagocytosis, capsule formation, pathogenicity, and antibiotic resistance were downregulated significantly relative to the wild-type strain. This study revealed that the CovS plays a vital role in the establishment of SEZ virulence
Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most common pathogens that cause bovine mastitis worldwide. Identifying pathogen prevalence and virulence factors is critical for developing prevention and control approaches. Herein, 1161 milk samples from various dairy farms in China (n=558) and Pakistan (n=603) were collected between 2019-2021 and were subjected to S. agalactiae isolation. Prevalence, serotyping, virulence genes, and antibiotic-resistant genes of S. agalactiae were evaluated by PCR assay. All isolates were characterized for haemolysis, biofilm production, cytotoxicity, adhesion, and invasion on bovine mammary epithelial cells. The prevalence of S. agalactiae-induced mastitis in cattle was found to be considerably higher in Pakistan than in China. Jiangsu and Sindh provinces had the highest area-wise prevalence in China and Pakistan, respectively. Serotypes Ia and II were prevalent in both countries, whereas serotype III was found only in Pakistan. Moreover, all isolates tested positive for PI-2b gene but negative for PI-1 and PI-2a genes. All isolates harboured cfb, cylE, hylB, and fbsB virulent genes, whereas many of them lacked bibA, rib and bca. However, the absence of bac and scp genes in Chinese isolates and cspA in Pakistani isolates was noted, while spb1 and lmb were not detected in isolates of both countries. Pakistani isolates, particularly serotype Ia-positive, had a considerably higher ability to produce biofilm, haemolysis, cytotoxicity, adhesion, and invasion than Chinese isolates. Most of the isolates were phenotypically resistant to tetracycline, erythromycin, and clindamycin and genotypic resistance was confirmed by the presence of ermA, ermB, tetM and tetO genes. Our study highlights the antimicrobial resistance profile and virulence-related factors contributing to the epidemiological spread of mastitis-causing S. agalactiae in China and Pakistan. The findings may facilitate future studies designed to develop improved treatment and control strategies against this pathogen.
Antimicrobial resistance has become a global problem that poses great threats to human health. Antimicrobials are widely used in broiler chicken production and consequently affect their gut microbiota and resistome. To better understand how continuous antimicrobial use in farm animals alters their microbial ecology, we used a metagenomic approach to investigate the effects of pulsed antimicrobial administration on the bacterial community, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and ARG bacterial hosts in the feces of broiler chickens. Chickens received three 5-day courses of individual or combined antimicrobials, including amoxicillin, chlortetracycline and florfenicol. The florfenicol administration significantly increased the abundance of mcr-1 gene accompanied by floR gene, while amoxicillin significantly increased the abundance of genes encoding the AcrAB-tolC multidrug efflux pump (marA, soxS, sdiA, rob, evgS and phoP). These three antimicrobials all led to an increase in Proteobacteria. The increase in ARG host, Escherichia, was mainly attributed to the β-lactam, chloramphenicol and tetracycline resistance genes harbored by Escherichia under the pulsed antimicrobial treatments. These results indicated that pulsed antimicrobial administration with amoxicillin, chlortetracycline, florfenicol or their combinations significantly increased the abundance of Proteobacteria and enhanced the abundance of particular ARGs. The ARG types were occupied by the multidrug resistance genes and had significant correlations with the total ARGs in the antimicrobial-treated groups. The results of this study provide comprehensive insight into pulsed antimicrobial-mediated alteration of chicken fecal microbiota and resistome.
Membrane vesicles derived from Streptococcus suis serotype 2 induce cell pyroptosis in endothelial cells via the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway
The virulence regulator AbsR in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli has pleiotropic effects on bacterial physiology
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) belonging to extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) can cause severe infections in extraintestinal tissues in birds and humans, such as the lungs and blood. MprA (microcin production regulation, locus A, herein renamed AbsR, a blood survival regulator), a member of the MarR (multiple antibiotic resistance regulator) transcriptional regulator family, governs the expression of capsule biosynthetic genes in human ExPEC and represents a promising druggable target for antimicrobials. However, a deep understanding of the AbsR regulatory mechanism as well as its regulon is lacking. In this study, we present a systems-level analysis of the APEC AbsR regulon using ChIP-Seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing) and RNA-Seq (RNA sequencing) methods. We found that AbsR directly regulates 99 genes and indirectly regulates 667 genes. Furthermore, we showed that: 1) AbsR contributes to antiphagocytotic effects by macrophages and virulence in a mouse model for systemic infection by directly activating the capsular gene cluster; 2) AbsR positively impacts biofilm formation via direct regulation of the T2SS (type II secretion system) but plays a marginal role in virulence; and 3) AbsR directly upregulates the acid tolerance signaling system EvgAS to withstand acid stress but is dispensable in ExPEC virulence. Finally, our data indicate that the role of AbsR in virulence gene regulation is relatively conserved in ExPEC strains. Altogether, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the AbsR regulon and regulatory mechanism, and our data suggest that AbsR likely influences virulence primarily through the control of capsule production. Interestingly, we found that AbsR severely represses the expression of the type I-F CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR associated) systems, which could have implications in CRISPR biology and application.
Carbapenem- and colistin-resistant Enterobacter has been a clinical and therapy problem in recent years. Here, we report the carbapenem- and colistin-resistant Enterobacter harboring blaIMI isolated from intestinal samples and the environment of a duck farm in China. Four blaIMI-positive Enterobacter isolates were resistant to carbapenem and colistin. Three blaIMI subtypes were detected in different molecular categories of Enterobacter. The detection of the various IMI producers highlights the diversity of carbapenemases in a duck farm. Whole-genome sequencing demonstrated the blaIMI genes were present in chromosomes or plasmids in these strains. The conjugation experiment demonstrated the ability of blaIMI-carrying plasmid to transmit horizontally. The molecular evolution characteristics were examined through comparative genetic analysis. The study demonstrated the presence of chromosomal and plasmid blaIMI and the blaIMI-carrying plasmid exhibits a horizontal transmission between Enterobacter and Escherichia coli C600. The similar genetic content was discovered between two blaIMI-16-positive Enterobacter asburiae. In addition, a blaIMI-16-carrying plasmid is an IncFII(Yp) plasmid, and a substantial amount of mobile genetic elements were identified around blaIMI-16. The IS-like elements and IncFII(Yp) plasmid are significant in the propagation of blaIMI. Our study provides evidence for the transmission of diverse blaIMI genes in China and supplies additional reference data for blaIMI-positive antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacter. Routine surveys of blaIMI-positive Enterobacter from animal-raising environments must be given more focus
The serine proteases of Mycobacteria tuberculosis (Mtb) are important contributors to the process of bacterial invasion and its pathogenesis. In the present study, we systematically characterized the role of the Rv1043c protein in Mycobacterium infection by purifying the Rv1043c protein in Escherichia coli and constructing a Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msg) strain overexpressing Rv1043c (Msg_Rv1043c). We found that Rv1043c had serine protease activity and localized to the surface of Mtb. We determined that the optimal pH and temperature for the Rv1043c serine protease were 9.0 and 45°C, respectively. Moreover, the serine protease activity of Rv1043c was enhanced by divalent metal ions of Ca2+ and Mg2+. Site-directed mutagenesis studies demonstrated that the serine 279 residue in Rv1043c plays a catalytic role. Additionally, mouse model studies confirmed that Rv1043c significantly enhanced the survival of Msg in vivo, induced pulmonary injury and lung cell apoptosis, and promoted the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 in mice. This study presents novel insights into the relationship between mycobacterial serine protease and the pathogenesis of the disease.