Frequency and distribution of tetracycline resistance genes in genetically diverse, nonselected, and nonclinical Escherichia coli strains isolated from diverse human and animal sources

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 2503 - 2507
• Main Authors: Bryan, A, Shapir, N, Sadowsky, M.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for Microbiology 01.04.2004
• Subjects: animal diseases; animal pathogenic bacteria; Animals; antibiotic resistance; Aquatic birds; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; Chickens; deer; DNA, Bacterial; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; drug effects; Drug resistance; E coli; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Escherichia infections; frequency; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; genes; Genes, Bacterial; genetics; Horses; human diseases; Human subjects; Humans; isolation & purification; livestock; Microbiology; Molecular Epidemiology; Natural populations; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Poultry; Public Health Microbiology; Quantitative genetics; Species Specificity; strain differences; strains; Swine; tetM gene; tetracycline; Tetracycline Resistance; Tetracycline Resistance - genetics; Turkeys; Turkey; Human; Resistance; Sensitivity resistance; Gene; Animal; Escherichia coli; Distribution; Bacteria; Enterobacteriaceae
• ISSN: 0099-2240; 1098-5336
• DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.4.2503-2507.2004

Nonselected and natural populations of Escherichia coli from 12 animal sources and humans were examined for the presence and types of 14 tetracycline resistance determinants. Of 1,263 unique E. coli isolates from humans, pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows, goats, cats, dogs, horses, geese, ducks, and deer, 31% were highly resistant to tetracycline. More than 78, 47, and 41% of the E. coli isolates from pigs, chickens, and turkeys were resistant or highly resistant to tetracycline, respectively. Tetracycline MICs for 61, 29, and 29% of E. coli isolates from pig, chickens, and turkeys, respectively, were > = 233 microgram/ml. Muliplex PCR analyses indicated that 97% of these strains contained at least 1 of 14 tetracycline resistance genes [tetA, tetB, tetC, tetD, tetE, tetG, tetK, tetL, tetM, tetO, tetS, tetA(P), tetQ, and tetX] examined. While the most common genes found in these isolates were tetB (63%) and tetA (35%), tetC, tetD, and tetM were also found. E. coli isolates from pigs and chickens were the only strains to have tetM. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of tetM in E. coli.