First report of the mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-1.26, in multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli isolated from retail chicken meat

Issmat I Kassem; Marwan Osman; Jouman Hassan; Abdallah Alhaj Sulaiman; David Mann; Malak A Esseili; Thierry Naas; Xiangyu Deng

doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2023.07.005

First report of the mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-1.26, in multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli isolated from retail chicken meat

J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2023 Sep:34:176-178. doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2023.07.005. Epub 2023 Jul 8.

Authors

Issmat I Kassem¹, Marwan Osman², Jouman Hassan³, Abdallah Alhaj Sulaiman⁴, David Mann³, Malak A Esseili³, Thierry Naas⁵, Xiangyu Deng³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia. Electronic address: issmat.kassem@uga.edu.
² Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
³ Center for Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia.
⁴ Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.
⁵ Team ReSIST, UMR1184, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, School of Medicine, LabEx LERMIT, Le krem-lin-Bicêtre, France; Bacteriology-Hygiene unit, Bicêtre Hospital, APHP Paris-Saclay, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France; French National Reference Center for Antibiotic Resistance: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.

PMID: 37429544
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2023.07.005

Abstract

Objectives: We isolated a highly colistin-resistant Escherichia coli, strain 58, from fresh chicken wings in Lebanon. Here, we performed in-depth phenotypic and genomic analyses to identify the resistome of the isolate, focusing on the determinants that encoded colistin resistance.

Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of colistin and resistance to other antibiotics were determined using the broth microdilution method and the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay, respectively. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and different software available at the Center of Genomic Epidemiology were used to predict the resistome, the sequence type (ST), and the presence of virulence genes and plasmid replicon types.

Results: Susceptibility testing revealed that E. coli 58 exhibited multidrug resistance, including against colistin (MIC = 32 µg/mL). Whole-genome sequencing analyses showed that E. coli 58 carried 26 antimicrobial resistance genes associated with resistance to polymyxins (mcr-1.26), β-lactams (blaTEM-1b and blaCMY-2), fosfomycin (fosA4), aminoglycosides (aac(3)-IId, aadA2b, aadA5, partial aadA1, aph(3'')-Ia, aph(3')-Ia, and aph(6)-Id), tetracyclines (tetA and tetM), quinolones (qnrS1), sulphonamides (sul2 and sul3), trimethoprim (dfrA14, dfrA17, and dfrA5), phenicols (floR and cmlA1), macrolides (mphA), lincosamides (lnu(F)), quaternary ammonium compounds (partial qacL and qacE), and peroxides (sitABCD). mcr-1.26 was located on an IncX4 plasmid and induced colistin resistance in otherwise naïve E. coli and Salmonella Enteritidis. Escherichia coli 58 was predicted to be a human pathogen and belonged to ST3107.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of mcr-1.26 in poultry meat worldwide. We previously reported mcr-1.26 in an MDR E. coli (ST2207) isolated from a pigeon in Lebanon, which suggests that it might be spreading in different animal hosts and genetic backgrounds.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Colistin; IncX4; Lebanon; Poultry; mcr-1.26.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Chickens
Colistin / pharmacology
Escherichia coli Proteins* / genetics
Escherichia coli*
Humans
Meat

Substances

Colistin
Escherichia coli Proteins
Anti-Bacterial Agents