Antimicrobial resistance and interspecies gene transfer in Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni isolated from food animals, poultry processing, and retail meat in North Carolina, 2018-2019
Open Access
- 11 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 16 (2), e0246571
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246571
Abstract
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention identifies antimicrobial resistant (AMR) Campylobacter as a serious threat to U.S. public health due to high community burden, increased transmissibility, and limited treatability. The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) plays an important role in surveillance of AMR bacterial pathogens in humans, food animals and retail meats. This study investigated C. coli and C. jejuni from live food animals, poultry carcasses at production, and retail meat in North Carolina between January 2018-December 2019. Whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics were used for phenotypic and genotypic characterization to compare AMR profiles, virulence factors associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) (neuABC and cst-II or cst-III), and phylogenic linkage between 541 Campylobacter isolates (C. coli n = 343, C. jejuni n = 198). Overall, 90.4% (489/541) Campylobacter isolates tested positive for AMR genes, while 43% (233/541) carried resistance genes for three or more antibiotic classes and were classified molecularly multidrug resistant. AMR gene frequencies were highest against tetracyclines (64.3%), beta-lactams (63.6%), aminoglycosides (38.6%), macrolides (34.8%), quinolones (24.4%), lincosamides (13.5%), and streptothricins (5%). A total of 57.6% (114/198) C. jejuni carried GBS virulence factors, while three C. coli carried the C. jejuni-like lipooligosaccharide locus, neuABC and cst-II. Further evidence of C. coli and C. jejuni interspecies genomic exchange was observed in identical multilocus sequence typing, shared sequence type (ST) 7818 clonal complex 828, and identical species-indicator genes mapA, ceuE, and hipO. There was a significant increase in novel STs from 2018 to 2019 (2 in 2018 and 21 in 2019, p<0.002), illustrating variable Campylobacter genomes within food animal production. Introgression between C. coli and C. jejuni may aid pathogen adaption, lead to higher AMR and increase Campylobacter persistence in food processing. Future studies should further characterize interspecies gene transfer and evolutionary trends in food animal production to track evolving risks to public health.Funding Information
- National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (#-1U01FD007145-01)
- National Institutes of Health/Food and Drug Administration (5U 18FD006194-02)
This publication has 60 references indexed in Scilit:
- Risk Factors for Campylobacteriosis of Chicken, Ruminant, and Environmental Origin: A Combined Case-Control and Source Attribution AnalysisPLOS ONE, 2012
- Identification of acquired antimicrobial resistance genesJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2012
- Lipooligosaccharide of Campylobacter jejuniOnline Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2011
- Role of the Nlrp3 Inflammasome in Microbial InfectionFrontiers in Microbiology, 2011
- Campylobacter spp. as a Foodborne Pathogen: A ReviewFrontiers in Microbiology, 2011
- Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter Isolates from Retail Meat in the United States between 2002 and 2007Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2010
- Expanded Multilocus Sequence Typing and Comparative Genomic Hybridization of Campylobacter coli Isolates from Multiple HostsApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2010
- Convergence of Campylobacter Species: Implications for Bacterial EvolutionScience, 2008
- Clonal Population Structure and Specific Genotypes of Multidrug-Resistant Campylobacter coli from TurkeysApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2007
- Synergy between Efflux Pump CmeABC and Modifications in Ribosomal Proteins L4 and L22 in Conferring Macrolide Resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coliAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2006