Distribution and association of antimicrobial resistance and virulence characteristics in Enterococcus spp. isolates from captive Asian elephants in China

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Xiao Xiao¹  Wanyu Meng²  Haifeng Liu²  Jinpeng Yang²  Zhiyou Dong²  Ziyao Zhou²  Guangneng Peng²  Keyi Fu²  Qianlan Li²  Yanshan Chen²  Zhijun Zhong²  Wenqing Zhang²  Lijuan Liu²  Jieyao Zhu³ 

[1] College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan, China;Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China;Xishuangbanna Vocational and Technical College, Yunnan, China;

关键词: Enterococcus;    Asian elephants;    antimicrobial resistance;    virulence-associated genes;    Enterococcus faecalis;    Enterococcus faecium;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1277221

 received in 2023-08-14, accepted in 2023-10-09,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Enterococcus spp., as an opportunistic pathogen, are widely distributed in the environment and the gastrointestinal tracts of both humans and animals. Captive Asian elephants, popular animals at tourist attractions, have frequent contact with humans. However, there is limited information on whether captive Asian elephants can serve as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The aim of this study was to characterize AMR, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), virulence-associated genes (VAGs), gelatinase activity, hemolysis activity, and biofilm formation of Enterococcus spp. isolated from captive Asian elephants, and to analyze the potential correlations among these factors. A total of 62 Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated from fecal samples of captive Asian elephants, comprising 17 Enterococcus hirae (27.4%), 12 Enterococcus faecalis (19.4%), 8 Enterococcus faecium (12.9%), 7 Enterococcus avium (11.3%), 7 Enterococcus mundtii (11.3%), and 11 other Enterococcus spp. (17.7%). Isolates exhibited high resistance to rifampin (51.6%) and streptomycin (37.1%). 50% of Enterococcus spp. isolates exhibited multidrug resistance (MDR), with all E. faecium strains demonstrating MDR. Additionally, nine ARGs were identified, with tet(M) (51.6%), erm(B) (24.2%), and cfr (21.0%) showing relatively higher detection rates. Biofilm formation, gelatinase activity, and α-hemolysin activity were observed in 79.0, 24.2, and 14.5% of the isolates, respectively. A total of 18 VAGs were detected, with gelE being the most prevalent (69.4%). Correlation analysis revealed 229 significant positive correlations and 12 significant negative correlations. The strongest intra-group correlations were observed among VAGs. Notably, we found that vancomycin resistance showed a significant positive correlation with ciprofloxacin resistance, cfr, and gelatinase activity, respectively. In conclusion, captive Asian elephants could serve as significant reservoirs for the dissemination of AMR to humans.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Yang, Chen, Dong, Zhang, Liu, Meng, Li, Fu, Zhou, Liu, Zhong, Xiao, Zhu and Peng.