Infection and Drug Resistance (Aug 2023)
ESBL-Producing and Non-ESBL-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Urinary Tract Differ in Clonal Distribution, Virulence Gene Content and Phylogenetic Group
Abstract
Yewei Fang,1 Shuan Tao,2 Huimin Chen,2 Yao Xu,3 Luyan Chen,4 Wei Liang1 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wei Liang, Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 59. Liuting Road, Haishu District, Zhejiang, 315010, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 15351883016, Fax +86-51885213100, Email [email protected]: The objectives of this study are to determine the differences in clonality, virulence gene (VG) content and phylogenetic group between non extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli (non-ESBL-EC) and ESBL-EC isolates from urine.Patients and Methods: This study characterized a total of 100 clinical E. coli isolates consecutively obtained from the inpatients hospitalized in The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University in China by polymerase-chain reaction (PCR).Results: Phylogenetic group B2 was found to be the most prevalent in both ESBL-EC and non-ESBL-EC group. Among 100 clinical isolates, the count of acquired virulence genes in group B2 was found to be significantly higher than that in group A, B1, and D (p < 0.001). Additionally, the presence of content within virulence genes (the total number of virulence genes detected per isolate) in B2 of non-ESBL-EC and ESBL-EC showed a significant difference (p< 0.001). ST131 was detected exclusively in ESBL-EC, while ST95 and ST73 were the main sequence types in non-ESBL-EC.Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the different distribution of MLST, phylogenetic group in ESBL-EC and non-ESBL-EC group. The inverse association between beta-lactamase resistance and VG content performed in this study should get a lot more attention. At the same time, we should also be wary of the appearance of non-ESBL-EC isolates of group B2 harboring more virulence genes which will lead to high pathogenicity.Keywords: E. coli, clonal structure, ST73, ST95, ST131, ST1193, virulence genes
