Genome Comparison of Erythromycin Resistant Campylobacter from Turkeys Identifies Hosts and Pathways for Horizontal Spread of erm (B) Genes

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 8; p. 2240
• Main Authors: Florez-Cuadrado, Diego, Ugarte-Ruiz, María, Meric, Guillaume, Quesada, Alberto, Porrero, M C, Pascoe, Ben, Sáez-Llorente, Jose L, Orozco, Gema L, Domínguez, Lucas, Sheppard, Samuel K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 15-11-2017
• Subjects: antimicrobial; Campylobacter; erm(B); erythromycin; Microbiology; transmission; turkey; antimicrobial; transmission; erm(B); erythromycin; turkey; Campylobacter
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02240

Pathogens in the genus
are the most common cause of food-borne bacterial gastro-enteritis. Campylobacteriosis, caused principally by
and
, is transmitted to humans by food of animal origin, especially poultry. As for many pathogens, antimicrobial resistance in
is increasing at an alarming rate. Erythromycin prescription is the treatment of choice for clinical cases requiring antimicrobial therapy but this is compromised by mobility of the erythromycin resistance gene
(B) between strains. Here, we evaluate resistance to six antimicrobials in 170
isolates (133
and 37
) from turkeys. Erythromycin resistant isolates (
= 85; 81
and 4
) were screened for the presence of the
(B) gene, that has not previously been identified in isolates from turkeys. The genomes of two positive
isolates were sequenced and in both isolates the
(B) gene clustered with resistance determinants against aminoglycosides plus tetracycline, including
, and
(O) genes. Comparative genomic analysis identified identical
(B) sequences among
from turkeys,
from pigs and
and
from humans. This is consistent with multiple horizontal transfer events among different bacterial species colonizing turkeys. This example highlights the potential for dissemination of antimicrobial resistance across bacterial species boundaries which may compromise their effectiveness in antimicrobial therapy.