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. 2023 Apr 14:14:1137932.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1137932. eCollection 2023.

Molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of human Brucella in Northeast China

Han-Rui Ma  1   2 , Hui-Jiao Xu  3 , Xin Wang  2   4 , Zhao-Yang Bu  2   4 , Teng Yao  2   4 , Zun-Rong Zheng  3 , Yang Sun  2   4 , Xue Ji  2   4 , Jun Liu  2   4
Affiliations

Molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of human Brucella in Northeast China

Han-Rui Ma et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Northeast China has always been an area with severe brucellosis prevalence. This study will identify Brucella in Northeast China and test its resistance to antibiotics, in order to clarify its resistance mechanism. Brucella is a widespread and highly pathogenic bacteria that poses serious threats to public health and animal husbandry.

Methods: In this study, 61 Brucella isolates were identified by abortus-melitensis-ovis-suis polymerase chain reaction (AMOS-PCR) for biotypes and epidemic potential was clarified by multi-locus sequence analysis. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed and the antibiotic susceptibility of the Brucella strains against 13 antibiotics was detected with the use of E-test strips.

Results: The results showed that all of the isolates were Brucella melitensis ST8, group CC4 with little genetic variation and obvious geographical characteristics. All 61 Brucella isolates were sensitive to doxycycline, tetracycline, minocycline, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and streptomycin, while 24.6%, 86.9%, 65.6%, 27.9%, 3.3%, and 1.6% were resistant to rifampin, azithromycin, cefepime, cefoperazone/sulbactam, cefotaxime, and meperidine/sulfamethoxazole, respectively. This is the first report of cephalosporin-resistant B. melitensis in China. The WGS results indicated that about 60% of the antibiotic resistance genes were associated with efflux pumps (mainly the resistance nodulation division family).

Discussion: Brucellosis is usually treated with antibiotics for several months, which can easily lead to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. To ensure the effectiveness and safety of antibiotics for treatment of brucellosis, continuous surveillance of antibiotic susceptibility is especially important.

Keywords: Brucella melitensis; antibiotic susceptibility; epidemiology; genotyping; whole-genome sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Brucella isolates to cephalosporins (partial). (A) Azithromycin against Brucella isolate 637 with MIC value of >256 μg/mL. (B) Levofloxacin against Brucella isolate 637 with MIC value of 0.19 μg/mL.
Figure 2
Figure 2
AMOS-PCR results of the Brucella isolates (partial). (1–5) Brucella isolates. (6) B. suis S2. (7) B. abortus A19. (8) B. melitensis 16 M. (9) Negative control. (10) DL2000 DNA ladder.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic tree of Brucella isolates. The evolutionary history was inferred using the neighbor-joining method and the evolutionary distance was calculated using the Poisson correction method. The evolutionary tree of the relationships among 59 strains of Brucella and 16 M can be roughly divided into five small closely related phylogenetic groups with little genetic variation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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