Antibiotic resistance in E. coli isolates from wild-living animals

Abstract

This study indicates that wild-living animals can harbour antibiotic resistant bacteria in their microbial intestinal flora, even if they have not been exposed to selection pressure from the usage of antimicrobial agents. Resistance genes found in the bacteriae corresponded to resistance genes which normally occur in human and animal pathogenic bacteriae, but the organization of the resistance genes was somewhat different. It is reason to assume that antibiotic resistance is a “natural ability” in some rare Escherichia coli strains – and that this is not solely a consequence of human use of antimicrobial agents.

Keywords

• antibiotic resistance
• wild-living animals
• escherichia coli
• transmissible genetic elements
• integrons
• transposons