Infection and Drug Resistance (Apr 2022)

Newly Emerging MDR B. cereus in Mugil seheli as the First Report Commonly Harbor nhe, hbl, cytK, and pc-plc Virulence Genes and bla1, bla2, tetA, and ermA Resistance Genes

  • Algammal AM,
  • Alfifi KJ,
  • Mabrok M,
  • Alatawy M,
  • Abdel-moneam DA,
  • Alghamdi S,
  • Azab MM,
  • Ibrahim RA,
  • Hetta HF,
  • El-Tarabili RM

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 2167 – 2185

Abstract

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Abdelazeem M Algammal,1 Khyreyah J Alfifi,2 Mahmoud Mabrok,3 Marfat Alatawy,2 Dalia A Abdel-moneam,4 Saad Alghamdi,5 Marwa M Azab,6 Reham A Ibrahim,7 Helal F Hetta,8 Reham M El-Tarabili1 1Department of Bacteriology, Immunology, and Mycology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt; 2Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Tabuk University, Tabuk, 71421, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Fish Diseases and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt; 4Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613, Egypt; 5Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt; 7Marine Environmental Division- National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Suez, 43511, Egypt; 8Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, EgyptCorrespondence: Abdelazeem M Algammal, Department of Bacteriology, Immunology and Mycology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt, Email [email protected] Mahmoud Mabrok, Department of Fish Diseases and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt, Email [email protected]: Bacillus cereus is a common food poisoning pathogen in humans. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, molecular typing, antibiogram profile, pathogenicity, dissemination of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes associated with natural B. cereus infection among Mugil seheli.Methods: Consequently, 120 M. seheli (40 healthy and 80 diseased) were obtained from private fish farms in Port-said Governorate, Egypt. Afterward, samples were processed for clinical, post-mortem, and bacteriological examinations. The recovered isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, phenotypic assessment of virulence factors, pathogeneicity, and PCR-based detection of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes.Results: B. cereus was isolated from 30 (25%) examined fish; the highest prevalence was noticed in the liver (50%). The phylogenetic and sequence analyses of the gyrB gene revealed that the tested B. cereus isolate displayed a high genetic similarity with other B. cereus strains from different origins. All the recovered B. cereus isolates (n =60, 100%) exhibited β-hemolytic and lecithinase activities, while 90% (54/60) of the tested isolates were biofilm producers. Using PCR, the tested B. cereus isolates harbor nhe, hbl, cytK, pc-plc, and ces virulence genes with prevalence rates of 91.6%, 86.6%, 83.4%, 50%, and 33.4%, respectively. Moreover, 40% (24/60) of the tested B. cereus isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR) to six antimicrobial classes and carried the bla 1, bla 2, tetA, and ermA genes. The experimentally infected fish with B. cereus showed variable mortality in direct proportion to the inoculated doses.Conclusion: As far as we know, this is the first report that emphasized the existence of MDR B. cereus in M. seheli that reflects a threat to the public health and the aquaculture sector. Newly emerging MDR B. cereus in M. seheli commonly carried virulence genes nhe, hbl, cytK, and pc-plc, as well as resistance genes bla 1, bla 2, tetA, and ermA.Keywords: MDR B. cereus, virulence traits, antibiogram, virulence genes, antimicrobial resistance genes

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