Antimicrobial resistance determinants circulating among thermophilic campylobacter isolates recovered from broilers in Ireland over a one-year period

Authors

Caoimhe T. Lynch, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology
Helen Lynch, NRL Campylobacter
Sarah Burke, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology
Kayleigh Hawkins, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology
Colin Buttimer, APC Microbiome Ireland
Conor Mc Carthy, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology
John Egan, NRL Campylobacter
Paul Whyte, University College Dublin
Declan Bolton, Moorepark Food Research Centre
Aidan Coffey, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork, IrelandFollow
Brigid Lucey, Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of TechnologyFollow

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3932-9121

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Disciplines

Biology

Publication Details

Antibiotics

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Campylobacteriosis is the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis, very often associated with poultry consumption. Thermophilic Campylobacter (Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli) isolates (n = 158) recovered from broiler neck skin and caecal contents in Ireland over a one-year period, resistant to at least one of three clinically relevant antimicrobial classes, were screened for resistance determinants. All ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates (n = 99) harboured the C257T nucleotide mutation (conferring the Thr-86-Ile substitution) in conjunction with other synonymous and nonsynonymous mutations, which may have epidemiological value. The A2075G nucleotide mutation and amino acid substitutions in L4 and L22 were detected in all erythromycin-resistant isolates (n = 5). The tetO gene was detected in 100% (n = 119) of tetracycline-resistant isolates and three of which were found to harbour the mosaic tetracycline resistance gene tetO/32/O. Two streptomycin-resistant C. jejuni isolates (isolated from the same flock) harboured ant(6)-Ib, located in a multidrug resistance genomic island, containing aminoglycoside, streptothricin (satA) and tetracycline resistance genes (truncated tetO and mosaic tetO/32/O). The ant(6)-Ie gene was identified in two streptomycin-resistant C. coli isolates. This study highlights the widespread acquisition of antimicrobial resistance determinants among chicken-associated Campylobacter isolates, through horizontal gene transfer or clonal expansion of resistant lineages. The stability of such resistance determinants is compounded by the fluidity of mobile genetic element.

Recommended Citation

Lynch, C.T. et al., 2020. Antimicrobial Resistance Determinants Circulating among Thermophilic Campylobacter Isolates Recovered from Broilers in Ireland Over a One-Year Period. Antibiotics, 9(6), p.308. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9060308.