| Abstract | MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT AVIAN PATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI ISOLATED FROM SEPTICEMIC BROILERS
Ashraf M. Ahmed, Toshi Shimamoto, Tadashi Shimamoto
Department of Bacteriology, Mycology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt,Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8528, Japana
ABSTRACT
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) causes extensive mortality in poultry flocks, leading to extensiveeconomic losses. To date, little information is available on the molecular basis of antimicrobial resistancein APEC in Africa. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the virulence and antimicrobialresistance of multidrug-resistant APEC isolated from septicemic broilers in Egypt at the molecular level.Among 91 non-repetitive E. coli isolates, 73 (80.2%) carried three or more of the APEC virulence genes iroN,ompT, iss, iutA, and hlyF. All 73 APEC isolates showed multidrug resistance phenotypes, particularly againstampicillin, tetracycline, spectinomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.PCR and DNA sequencing identified class 1 and class 2 integrons in 34 (46.6%) and seven (9.6%) iso-lates, respectively. The _-lactamase-encoding genes, blaTEM-1, blaTEM-104, blaCMY-2, blaOXA-30, blaCTX-M-15,and blaSHV-2; tetracycline resistance genes, tet(A), tet(B), tet(C), tet(D), and tet(E); the plasmid-mediatedquinolone resistance genes, qnrA1, qnrB2, qnrS1, and aac(6_)-Ib-cr, and florfenicol resistance gene, floR,were also identified in 69 (94.5%), 67 (91.8%), 47 (64.4%), and 13 (17.8%) isolates, respectively. To the bestof our knowledge, this is the first report of molecular characterization of antimicrobial resistance in APECstrains from Africa. |