Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Virulence Factors, and Biofilm Formation in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus spp. Isolates from European Hakes ( Merluccius merluccius, L.) Caught in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.
Lara Díaz-FormosoVanessa SilvaDiogo ContenteJavier FeitoPablo E HernándezJuan BorreroGilberto IgrejasRosa Del CampoEstefanía Muñoz-AtienzaPatrícia PoetaLuis M CintasPublished in: Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has contributed to the dissemination of multiresistant bacteria, which represents a public health concern. The aim of this work was to characterize 27 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolated from eight wild Northeast Atlantic hakes ( Merluccius merluccius , L.) and taxonomically identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis ( n = 16), Staphylococcus saprophyticus ( n = 4), Staphylococcus hominis ( n = 3), Staphylococcus pasteuri ( n = 2), Staphylococcus edaphicus ( n = 1), and Staphylococcus capitis ( n = 1). Biofilm formation was evaluated with a microtiter assay, antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method, and antibiotic resistance and virulence determinants were detected by PCR. Our results showed that all staphylococci produced biofilms and that 92.6% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, mainly penicillin (88.8%), fusidic acid (40.7%), and erythromycin (37%). The penicillin resistance gene ( blaZ ) was detected in 66.6% (18) of the isolates, of which 10 also carried resistance genes to macrolides and lincosamides ( mphC , msr(A/B) , lnuA , or vgaA ), 4 to fusidic acid ( fusB ), and 3 to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole ( dfrA ). At least one virulence gene ( scn , hla , SCCmecIII , and/or SCCmecV ) was detected in 48% of the isolates. This study suggests that wild European hake destined for human consumption could act as a vector of CoNS carrying antibiotic resistance genes and/or virulence factors.
Keyphrases
- biofilm formation
- antibiotic resistance genes
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- staphylococcus aureus
- candida albicans
- escherichia coli
- public health
- microbial community
- wastewater treatment
- genetic diversity
- genome wide
- anaerobic digestion
- endothelial cells
- antimicrobial resistance
- high throughput
- gene expression
- genome wide identification
- copy number
- dna methylation
- transcription factor