Pathogenic potential and antibiotic resistance of Yersinia enterocolitica, a foodborne pathogen limited to swine tonsils in a pork production chain from Southern Brazil

• Published in: Brazilian journal of microbiology Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 2335 - 2342
• Main Authors: Pegoraro, Kadigia, Sereno, Mallu Jagnow, Viana, Cibeli, Martins, Bruna Torres Furtado, Yamatogi, Ricardo Seiti, Nero, Luís Augusto, Bersot, Luciano dos Santos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-12-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abattoirs; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brazil; Chains; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Microbial - genetics; Electrophoresis; Farm buildings; Farms; Food Microbiology; Food Microbiology – Research Paper; Foodborne Diseases - microbiology; Foodborne pathogens; Gel electrophoresis; Life Sciences; Lymph nodes; Medical Microbiology; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Multidrug resistance; Mycology; Palatine Tonsil - microbiology; Pork; Pork Meat - microbiology; rRNA; Swine; Swine Diseases - microbiology; Tonsil; Virulence; Yersinia enterocolitica; Yersinia enterocolitica - drug effects; Yersinia enterocolitica - genetics; Yersinia enterocolitica - pathogenicity; Yersinia Infections - microbiology; Yersinia Infections - transmission; Brazil; PFGE; Virulence; Pork; Antibiotic resistance; Yersinia enterocolitica
• ISSN: 1517-8382; 1678-4405
• DOI: 10.1007/s42770-021-00591-3

In this study, we aimed to characterize the distribution of
Yersinia enterocolitica
in a pork production chain in Brazil, as well as the virulence profile and antibiotic resistance of the obtained isolates. Samples from 10 pig lots obtained from finishing farms (water, feed, and barn floors,
n
 = 30), slaughterhouse (lairage floors, carcasses at four processing steps, tonsils, and mesenteric lymph nodes,
n
 = 610), and processing (end cuts, processing environment,
n
 = 160) were obtained in Paraná state, Brazil, and subjected to
Y. enterocolitica
detection by ISO 10,273. The obtained isolates were identified based on biochemical and molecular features (16 s rRNA,
inv
, bioserotyping) and subjected to PCR assays to detect virulence (
ail
,
ystA
,
ystB
,
virF
,
myfA
,
fepA
,
fepD
,
fes
,
tccC
,
ymoA
,
hreP
, and
sat
) and multidrug resistance–related genes (
emrD
,
yfhD
, and
marC
). Also, isolates were subjected to disk diffusion test to characterize their resistance against 17 antibiotics from 11 classes and to pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) after XbaI macro-restriction.
Y. enterocolitica
was detected in a single sample (tonsil), and the obtained three isolates were characterized as serotype O:3, harboring
ail
,
ystA
,
virF
,
myfA
,
tccC
,
ymoA
,
hreP
,
emrD
,
yfhD
, and
marC
, and resistant to all tested antibiotics. The three isolates presented identical macro-restriction profiles by PFGE, also identical to isolates obtained from Minas Gerais, other Brazilian state; one selected isolate was identified as biotype 4. Despite the low occurrence of
Y. enterocolitica
in the studied pork production, the virulence potential and the antibiotic resistance profiles of the isolates demonstrated their pathogenic potential, and the macro-restriction profiles indicate strains descending from a common subtype in the pork production chain of two Brazilian States.