High-level mupirocin resistance in Gram-positive bacteria isolated from diseased companion animals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the high-level mupirocin resistance (HLMR) in Gram-positive bacteria isolated from companion animals. A total of 931 clinical specimens were collected from diseased pets. The detection of mupirocin-resistant bacteria and plasmid-mediated mupirocin resistance genes were evaluated by antimicrobial susceptibility tests, polymerase chain reactions, and sequencing analysis. Four-hundred and six (43.6%) bacteria were isolated and 17 (4.2%), including 14 staphylococci and 3 Corynebacterium were high-level mupirocin-resistant (MICs, ≥ 1,024 ug/mL) harboring mupA. Six staphylococci of HLMR strains had plasmid-mediated mupA-IS257 flanking regions. The results show that HLMR bacteria could spread in veterinary medicine in the near future.

Keywords: Diseased pets; high-level mupirocin resistance; mupA-IS257; spread; staphylococci.

Fig. 1. High-level mupirocin resistance associated with plasmid-mediated mupA-IS257 junctions. Primer annealing sites for the detection of mupA gene and adjacent insertion sequence IS257 (A). Detection of mupA and IS257 using simplex PCR (B and C). Lane M of Figure A and B, 100 bp size marker (ELPIS BIO, Korea) and 1 kb size marker (ELPIS BIO), respectively; lanes 1 to 17, 17-1, 17-26, 17-71, 17-76, 17-80, 17-109, 17-147, 18-325, 19-181, 19-525, 19-805, 19-816, 19-850, 19-877, 19-878, and 19-902. PCR amplification across mupA-IS257 junctions (D and E). Lane M, 1 kb size marker (ELPIS BIO); Lane 1, 19-525 (Staphylococcus haemolyticus); Lane 2, 19-805 (Staphylococcus cohnii); Lane 3, 19-816 (Staphylococcus pseudintermedius); Lane 4, 19-850 (S. haemolyticus); Lane 5, 19-877 (S. pseudintermedius); Lane 6, 19-878 (S. haemolyticus).

PCR, polymerase chain reaction.