A Study of Resistome in Mexican Chili Powder as a Public Health Risk Factor
Mayra Paola Mena Navarro,
Merle Ariadna Espinosa Bernal,
Claudia Alvarado Osuna,
Miguel Ángel Ramos López,
Aldo Amaro Reyes,
Jackeline Lizzeta Arvizu Gómez,
Juan Ramiro Pacheco Aguilar,
Carlos Saldaña Gutiérrez,
Victor Pérez Moreno,
José Alberto Rodríguez Morales,
María Carlota García Gutiérrez,
Erika Álvarez Hidalgo,
Jorge Nuñez Ramírez,
José Luis Hernández Flores,
Juan Campos Guillén
Affiliations
Mayra Paola Mena Navarro
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Merle Ariadna Espinosa Bernal
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Claudia Alvarado Osuna
Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico
Miguel Ángel Ramos López
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Aldo Amaro Reyes
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Jackeline Lizzeta Arvizu Gómez
Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, Centro Nayarita de Innovación y Transferencia de Tecnología (CENITT), Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, Tepic 63173, Mexico
Juan Ramiro Pacheco Aguilar
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Carlos Saldaña Gutiérrez
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Av. De las Ciencias S/N, Querétaro 76220, Mexico
Victor Pérez Moreno
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
José Alberto Rodríguez Morales
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
María Carlota García Gutiérrez
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Erika Álvarez Hidalgo
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Jorge Nuñez Ramírez
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
José Luis Hernández Flores
Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato 36824, Mexico
Juan Campos Guillén
Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas S/N, Querétaro 76010, Mexico
Chili powder is an important condiment around the world. However, according to various reports, the presence of pathogenic microorganisms could present a public health risk factor during its consumption. Therefore, microbiological quality assessment is required to understand key microbial functional traits, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and bioinformatics analysis were used to characterize the comprehensive profiles of the bacterial community and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in 15 chili powder samples from different regions of Mexico. The initial bacterial load showed aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) ranging between 6 × 103 and 7 × 108 CFU/g, sporulated mesophilic bacteria (SMB) from 4.3 × 103 to 2 × 109 CFU/g, and enterobacteria (En) from 6 CFU/g. The most representative families in the samples were Bacillaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, in which 18 potential pathogen-associated species were detected. In total, the resistome profile in the chili powder contained 68 unique genes, which conferred antibiotic resistance distributed in 13 different classes. Among the main classes of antibiotic resistance genes with a high abundance in almost all the samples were those related to multidrug, tetracycline, beta-lactam, aminoglycoside, and phenicol resistance. Our findings reveal the utility of mNGS in elucidating microbiological quality in chili powder to reduce the public health risks and the spread of potential pathogens with antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
