Genetic Diversity, Antibiotic Resistance, and Pathogenicity of <i>Aeromonas</i> Species from Food Products in Shanghai, China.

Feng Tian QU; Wen Qing WANG; Qian LIU; Hai Jian ZHOU; Jin Rui HU; Xiao Li DU; Yue WANG; Jia Qi XUE; Zhi Gang CUI; Gui Lin XIE; Shuang MENG

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Genetic Diversity, Antibiotic Resistance, and Pathogenicity of Aeromonas Species from Food Products in Shanghai, China.

Author: Feng Tian QU ^{1
,

2} ; Wen Qing WANG ³ ; Qian LIU ^{4
,

5} ; Hai Jian ZHOU ² ; Jin Rui HU ² ; Xiao Li DU ² ; Yue WANG ² ; Jia Qi XUE ^{6
,

7} ; Zhi Gang CUI ² ; Gui Lin XIE ⁸ ; Shuang MENG ²
Author Information

1. College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Ha'erbin 150000, Heilongjiang, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.
3. Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai 200136, China.
4. Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology
5. Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China.
6. State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
7. Clinic Medical College, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063000, Hebei, China.
8. College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Ha'erbin 150000, Heilongjiang, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Aeromonas; Antibiotic resistance; Cytotoxicity assay; Genetic diversity; Multidrug-resistance; Virulence gene
MeSH: Aeromonas/genetics*; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology*; Caenorhabditis elegans; Cefazolin; China/epidemiology*; Diarrhea; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics*; Genetic Variation; Humans; Peptide Hydrolases/genetics*; Virulence/genetics*
From: Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2022;35(9):842-853
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:Aeromonas has recently been recognized as an emerging human pathogen. Aeromonas-associated diarrhea is a phenomenon occurring worldwide. This study was designed to determine the prevalence, genetic diversity, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenicity of Aeromonas strains isolated from food products in Shanghai.
METHODS:Aeromonas isolates ( n = 79) collected from food samples were analyzed using concatenated gyrB- cpn60 sequencing. The antibiotic resistance of these isolates was determined using antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Pathogenicity was assessed using β-hemolytic, extracellular protease, virulence gene detection, C. elegans liquid toxicity (LT), and cytotoxicity assays.
RESULTS:Eight different species were identified among the 79 isolates. The most prevalent Aeromonas species were A. veronii [62 (78.5%)], A. caviae [6 (7.6%)], A. dhakensis [3 (3.8%)], and A. salmonicida [3 (3.8%)]. The Aeromonas isolates were divided into 73 sequence types (STs), of which 65 were novel. The isolates were hemolytic (45.6%) and protease-positive (81.0%). The most prevalent virulence genes were act (73.4%), fla (69.6%), aexT (36.7%), and ascV (30.4%). The results of C. elegans LT and cytotoxicity assays revealed that A. dhakensis and A. hydrophila were more virulent than A. veronii, A. caviae, and A. bivalvium. Antibiotic resistance genes [ tetE, blaTEM, tetA, qnrS, aac(6)-Ib, mcr -1, and mcr-3] were detected in the isolates. The multidrug-resistance rate of the Aeromonas isolates was 11.4%, and 93.7% of the Aeromonas isolates were resistant to cefazolin.
CONCLUSION:The taxonomy, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenicity of different Aeromonas species varied. The Aeromonas isolates A. dhakensis and A. hydrophila were highly pathogenic, indicating that food-derived Aeromonas isolates are potential risks for public health and food safety. The monitoring of food quality and safety will result in better prevention and treatment strategies to control diarrhea illnesses in China.