A First Report of Molecular Typing, Virulence Traits, and Phenotypic and Genotypic Resistance Patterns of Newly Emerging XDR and MDR Aeromonas veronii in Mugil seheli

Abdelazeem M Algammal; Reham A Ibrahim; Khyreyah J Alfifi; Hanaa Ghabban; Saad Alghamdi; Ahmed Kabrah; Ahmed R Khafagy; Gehan M Abou-Elela; Nermeen M Abu-Elala; Matthew Gavino Donadu; Reham M El-Tarabili

doi:10.3390/pathogens11111262

A First Report of Molecular Typing, Virulence Traits, and Phenotypic and Genotypic Resistance Patterns of Newly Emerging XDR and MDR Aeromonas veronii in Mugil seheli

Pathogens. 2022 Oct 29;11(11):1262. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11111262.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bacteriology, Immunology, and Mycology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.
² National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Cairo 11516, Egypt.
³ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71421, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza 12211, Egypt.
⁶ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, King Salman International University, El Tor 46612, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
⁸ Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.

Abstract

Aeromonas veronii is associated with substantial economic losses in the fish industry and with food-borne illness in humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, antibiogram profiles, sequence analysis, virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes, and pathogenicity of A. veronii recovered from Mugil seheli. A total of 80 fish were randomly gathered from various private farms in Suez Province, Egypt. Subsequently, samples were subjected to clinical, post-mortem, and bacteriological examinations. The retrieved isolates were tested for sequence analysis, antibiogram profile, pathogenicity, and PCR detection of virulence and resistance genes. The prevalence of A. veronii in the examined M. seheli was 22.5 % (18/80). The phylogenetic analyses revealed that the tested A. veronii strains shared high genetic similarity with other A. veronii strains from India, UK, and China. Using PCR it was revealed that the retrieved A. veronii isolates harbored the aerA, alt, ser, ompAII, act, ahp, and nuc virulence genes with prevalence of 100%, 82.9%, 61.7%, 55.3%, 44.7%, 36.17%, and 29.8%, respectively. Our findings revealed that 29.8% (14/47) of the retrieved A. veronii strains were XDR to nine antimicrobial classes and carried bla_TEM, bla_CTX-M, bla_SHV,tetA, aadA1, and sul1 resistance genes. Likewise, 19.1% (9/47) of the obtained A. veronii strains were MDR to eight classes and possessed bla_TEM, bla_CTX-M, bla_SHV,tetA, aadA1, and sul1 genes. The pathogenicity testing indicated that the mortality rates positively correlated with the prevalence of virulence-determinant genes. To our knowledge, this is the first report to reveal the occurrence of XDR and MDR A. veronii in M. seheli, an emergence that represents a risk to public health. Emerging XDR and MDR A. veronii in M. seheli frequently harbored aerA, alt, ser, ompAII, and act virulence genes, and bla_TEM, sul1, tetA, bla_CTX-M, bla_SHV, and aadA1 resistance genes.

Keywords: A. veronii; XDR; antimicrobial resistance genes; pathogenicity; sequence analysis; virulence.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.