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. 2024 Jul 18;12(7):1463.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12071463.

Isolation and Characterization of Escherichia coli from Brazilian Broilers

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

Isolation and Characterization of Escherichia coli from Brazilian Broilers

Giulia Von Tönnemann Pilati et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) causes colibacillosis, one of the main diseases leading to economic losses in industrial poultry farming due to high morbidity and mortality and its role in the condemnation of chicken carcasses. This study aimed to isolate and characterize APEC obtained from necropsied chickens on Brazilian poultry farms. Samples from birds already necropsied by routine inspection were collected from 100 batches of broiler chickens from six Brazilian states between August and November 2021. Three femurs were collected per batch, and characteristic E. coli colonies were isolated on MacConkey agar and characterized by qualitative PCR for minimal predictive APEC genes, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and whole genome sequencing to identify species, serogroups, virulence genes, and resistance genes. Phenotypic resistance indices revealed significant resistance to several antibiotics from different antimicrobial classes. The isolates harbored virulence genes linked to APEC pathogenicity, including adhesion, iron acquisition, serum resistance, and toxins. Aminoglycoside resistance genes were detected in 79.36% of isolates, 74.6% had sulfonamide resistance genes, 63.49% showed β-lactam resistance genes, and 49.2% possessed at least one tetracycline resistance gene. This study found a 58% prevalence of avian pathogenic E. coli in Brazilian poultry, with strains showing notable antimicrobial resistance to commonly used antibiotics.

Keywords: Brazilian poultry; antimicrobial resistance; antimicrobial resistance genes; avian pathogenic Escherichia coli; colibacillosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Resistances presented by APEC isolates against the tested antimicrobials: Ampicillin (AMP), Azithromycin (AZI), Ceftiofur (CFT), Ceftriaxone (CRO), Enrofloxacin (ENRO), Gentamicin (GEN), Lincomycin/Spectinomycin (LIN+SPT), Nalidixic Acid (NAL), Nitrofurantoin (NIT), Norfloxacin (NOR), and Sulfazotrim (SUT). (a) Resistances presented by APEC isolates against the tested antimicrobials in Brazil; (b) resistances presented by the APEC isolates from the Southern Region; (c) resistances presented by APEC isolates from the Southeast Region; (d) resistances presented by APEC isolates from the Northeast Region.
Figure 2
Figure 2
E. coli serogroup distribution using the program Sorotypefinder 2.0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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