Distribution and transferability of tetracycline resistance determinants in Escherichia coli isolated from meat and meat products

Escherichia coli is used to assess the hygienic quality of food products and the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. In particular, tetracycline-resistant E. coli can be chosen as an indicator of antibiotic resistant bacteria because it has a high frequency of occurrence. The purpose of this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of food microbiology 2011-02, Vol.145 (2), p.407-413
Main Authors: Koo, Hyon-Ji, Woo, Gun-Jo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antimicrobial resistance
Conjugation, Genetic
E. coli
Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - isolation & purification
Escherichia coli Proteins - genetics
Genes, Bacterial
Meat - microbiology
Meat Products - microbiology
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
PFGE
Phenotype
Republic of Korea
Seafood - microbiology
tet
Tetracycline resistance
Tetracycline Resistance - genetics
Tetracyclines - pharmacology
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Summary:Escherichia coli is used to assess the hygienic quality of food products and the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. In particular, tetracycline-resistant E. coli can be chosen as an indicator of antibiotic resistant bacteria because it has a high frequency of occurrence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution and transfer of tetracycline resistance determinants in meatborne E. coli. A total of 121 tetracycline-resistant E. coli isolates were collected from meat and meat products (raw meat, fish, and processed foods) from 2004 to 2006 in Korea. Among these isolates, tet(A) (52.4%) was the most frequent tetracycline resistance determinant, followed by tet(B) (41.3%), whereas tet(C) (1.7%) and tet(D) (0.8%) were less frequently identified. Two isolates (1.6%) contained two tet genes simultaneously, tet(A) and tet(B). Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to tetracycline family antibiotics, such as tetracycline, minocycline, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, and chlortetracycline were higher for isolates carrying the tet(B) gene compared to isolates carrying tet(A) ( P < 0.0001). Conjugation experiments were performed by the broth mating method; 119 isolates (98.3%) containing at least one of the tet genes were shown to transfer tetracycline resistance to recipient E. coli J53. Also, we observed high diversity of tetracycline-resistant E. coli isolates in meat and meat products in Korea by using XbaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. This study suggests that the high prevalence of tetracycline-resistant E. coli in meat may be due to the high transferability of tet determinants. ► We investigate the distribution and transfer of tet genes in meatborne E. coli. ► tet(A) was the most frequent, followed by tet(B), tet(C) and tet(D). ► MIC to tetracyclines were higher for E. coli carrying tetB than E. coli carrying tetA. ► Most tet genes found in our study were located on transferable elements.
ISSN:0168-1605
1879-3460
DOI:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.01.003