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. 2023 Jun 30;15(7):1485.
doi: 10.3390/v15071485.

Bacteriophage-Associated Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Brazilian Poultry

Giulia Von Tönnemann Pilati  1 , Rafael Dorighello Cadamuro  1 , Vilmar Benetti Filho  1 , Mariane Dahmer  1 , Mariana Alves Elois  1 , Beatriz Pereira Savi  1 , Gleidson Biasi Carvalho Salles  1   2 , Eduardo Correa Muniz  2 , Gislaine Fongaro  1
Affiliations

Bacteriophage-Associated Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Brazilian Poultry

Giulia Von Tönnemann Pilati et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Colibacillosis is a disease caused by Escherichia coli and remains a major concern in poultry production, as it leads to significant economic losses due to carcass condemnation and clinical symptoms. The development of antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem of worldwide concern. Lysogenic bacteriophages are effective vectors for acquiring and disseminating antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The aim of this study was to investigate the complete genome of Escherichia coli isolates from the femurs of Brazilian broiler chickens in order to investigate the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes associated with bacteriophages. Samples were collected between August and November 2021 from broiler batches from six Brazilian states. Through whole genome sequencing (WGS), data obtained were analyzed for the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes. Antimicrobial resistance genes against the aminoglycosides class were detected in 79.36% of the isolates; 74.6% had predicted sulfonamides resistance genes, 63.49% had predicted resistance genes against β-lactams, and 49.2% of the isolates had at least one of the tetracycline resistance genes. Among the detected genes, 27 have been described in previous studies and associated with bacteriophages. The findings of this study highlight the role of bacteriophages in the dissemination of ARGs in the poultry industry.

Keywords: colibacillosis; horizontal transfer genes (HGT); multi-resistance; phages; whole genome sequencing (WGS).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Presence or absence of antibiotic resistance genes was assessed in E. coli isolates submitted for sequencing. Each line in the dataset corresponds to a unique sample, while the columns represent the identified resistance genes and the corresponding antibiotics or antibiotic classes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Co-occurrence of resistance genes associated with two different classes of antimicrobials, including AMG (aminoglycosides), βLT (β -lactams), TMP (trimethoprim), PHE (phenicol), LIN (lincosamides, QUI (quinolones), SUL (sulfonamides), TET (tetracyclines), QAC (quaternary ammonium compound), FOR (formaldehyde), and FOS (fosfomycin). The image presents the combinations of classes that appear in 5% or more of the batches in the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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