Some virulence genes are associated with antibiotic susceptibility in Enterobacter cloacae complex

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 711 - 10
• Main Authors: Mosaffa, Fatemeh, Saffari, Fereshteh, Veisi, Mahin, Tadjrobehkar, Omid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19-07-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Amikacin; Analysis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antivirulence; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Biofilms; Carbapenems; Cefepime; Drug resistance; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - genetics; Enterobacter; Enterobacter - drug effects; Enterobacter - genetics; Enterobacter - isolation & purification; Enterobacter cloacae; Enterobacter cloacae - drug effects; Enterobacter cloacae - genetics; Enterobacter cloacae - isolation & purification; Enterobacter cloacae - pathogenicity; Enterobacter cloacae complex; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - microbiology; Female; FepA gene; Gene frequency; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Humans; Identification; Identification and classification; Introduced species; Male; MDR; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pathogens; Population studies; Regression analysis; RNA polymerase; Species classification; Species diffusion; Taxonomy; Virulence; Virulence (Microbiology); Virulence - genetics; Virulence Factors - genetics; Virulence gene; Iran; Antivirulence; MDR; Enterobacter cloacae complex; Antibiotic resistance; Virulence gene
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09608-2

Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) including different species are isolated from different human clinical samples. ECC is armed by many different virulence genes (VGs) and they were also classified among ESKAPE group by WHO recently. The present study was designed to find probable association between VGs and antibiotic susceptibility in different ECC species.
Forty-five Enterobacter isolates that were harvested from different clinical samples were classified in four different species. Seven VGs were screened by PCR technique and antibiotic susceptibility assessment was performed by disk-diffusion assay.
Four Enterobacter species; Enterobacter cloacae (33.3%), Enterobacter hormaechei (55.6%), Enterobacter kobei (6.7%) and Enterobacter roggenkampii (4.4%) were detected. Minimum antibiotic resistance was against carbapenem agents and amikacin even in MDR isolates. 33.3% and 13.3% of isolates were MDR and XDR respectively. The rpoS (97.8%) and csgD (11.1%) showed maximum and minimum frequency respectively. Blood sample isolated were highly virulent but less resistant in comparison to the other sample isolates. The csgA, csgD and iutA genes were associated with cefepime sensitivity.
The fepA showed a predictory role for differentiating of E. hormaechei from other species. More evolved iron acquisition system in E. hormaechei was hypothesized. The fepA gene introduced as a suitable target for designing novel anti-virulence/antibiotic agents against E. hormaechei. Complementary studies on other VGs and ARGs and with bigger study population is recommended.