Occurrence and Genomic Characterization of <i>mcr-1</i>-Harboring <i>Escherichia coli</i> Isolates from Chicken and Pig Farms in Lima, Peru
Dennis Carhuaricra,
Carla G. Duran Gonzales,
Carmen L. Rodríguez Cueva,
Yennifer Ignacion León,
Thalia Silvestre Espejo,
Geraldine Marcelo Monge,
Raúl H. Rosadio Alcántara,
Nilton Lincopan,
Luis Luna Espinoza,
Lenin Maturrano Hernández
Affiliations
Dennis Carhuaricra
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Carla G. Duran Gonzales
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Carmen L. Rodríguez Cueva
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Yennifer Ignacion León
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Thalia Silvestre Espejo
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Geraldine Marcelo Monge
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Raúl H. Rosadio Alcántara
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Nilton Lincopan
Department of Clinical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Luis Luna Espinoza
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Lenin Maturrano Hernández
Research Group in Biotechnology Applied to Animal Health, Production and Conservation [SANIGEN], Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15021, Peru
Resistance to colistin generated by the mcr-1 gene in Enterobacteriaceae is of great concern due to its efficient worldwide spread. Despite the fact that the Lima region has a third of the Peruvian population and more than half of the national pig and poultry production, there are no reports of the occurrence of the mcr-1 gene in Escherichia coli isolated from livestock. In the present work, we studied the occurrence of E. coli carrying the mcr-1 gene in chicken and pig farms in Lima between 2019 and 2020 and described the genomic context of the mcr-1 gene. We collected fecal samples from 15 farms in 4 provinces of Lima including the capital Lima Metropolitana and recovered 341 E. coli isolates. We found that 21.3% (42/197) and 12.5% (18/144) of the chicken and pig strains were mcr-1-positive by PCR, respectively. The whole genome sequencing of 14 mcr-1-positive isolates revealed diverse sequence types (e.g., ST48 and ST602) and the presence of other 38 genes that confer resistance to 10 different classes of antibiotics, including beta-lactamase blaCTX-M-55. The mcr-1 gene was located on diverse plasmids belonging to the IncI2 and IncHI1A:IncHI1B replicon types. A comparative analysis of the plasmids showed that they contained the mcr-1 gene within varied structures (mikB–mcr1–pap2, ISApl1–mcr1–pap2, and Tn6330). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study the prevalence of the mcr-1 gene in livestock in Peru, revealing its high occurrence in pig and chicken farms. The genetic diversity of mcr-1-positive strains suggests a complex local epidemiology calling for a coordinated surveillance under the One-Health approach that includes animals, retail meat, farmers, hospitals and the environment to effectively detect and limit the spread of colistin-resistant bacteria.
