Special Issue "Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance of Enterobacterales"

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dobroslava Bujňáková
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia
Interests: enterobacterales; virulence factors; antibiotic resistance; biofilm; quorum sensing
Prof. Ivana Ćirković
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, dr Subotica 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: enterobacterales; antimicrobial resistance; biofilm; human medicine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The heterogeneous group of Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and non-Escherichia coli Enterobacterales (e.g., Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter) that can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals and persist as gut commensals without inducing any infections in the environment with balanced microbiota (colonization resistance) also harbor features responsible for virulence and pathogenicity, including “fitness factors” or phenotypes that may result in severe health concerns, such as biofilm formation and/or multidrug resistance. Pathogenic Enterobacterales isolated from infected patients are the most often investigated, but also fecal isolates from healthy subjects including food, companion, and wild animals and/or food or environmental strains should be a more frequent target, aiming to determine the pathogenic potential of a wider biodiversity reservoir.

This Special Issue invites researchers interested in Enterobacterales characterization concerning the presence of genes associated with virulence (adhesins; surface cellulose structures and curli; siderophores, e.g., enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin; protectines; invasins or toxins), and, furthermore, bacterial-biofilm-associated phenotypes. Although not directly involved in pathogenicity, the acquisition of multiple antibiotic resistances strongly supports the success of opportunistic Enterobacterales pathogens in invasion, survival, and spread and markedly complicates the treatment of infections. Not only pathogens but also commensal bacteria, considered harmless and part of the normal microbiota, are exposed to selection pressure and can be a reservoir of mobile genetic elements carrying antibiotic resistance genes. Therefore, the occurrence of drug-resistant bacteria within a commensal population and the possibility to exchange genetic material through horizontal gene transfer may represent a major health concern. Research papers, up-to-date review articles, and commentaries dealing with resistance, virulence, and biofilm in Enterobacterales are all welcome.

Dr. Dobroslava Bujňáková
Prof. Dr. Nikola Puvača
Prof. Ivana Ćirković
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • enterobacterales
  • virulence factors
  • antibiotic resistance
  • biofilm
  • healthy and sick animals
  • commensal and pathogenic bacteria

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Escherichia coli Specific Virulence-Gene Markers Analysis for Quality Control of Ovine Cheese in Slovakia
Microorganisms 2021, 9(9), 1808; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091808 - 25 Aug 2021
Viewed by 266
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing and extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) have the potential to spread through faecal waste, resulting in contamination of food and causing foodborne disease outbreaks. With the aim of characterizing unpasteurized ovine cheese in Slovakia, a total of 92 [...] Read more.
Shiga toxin-producing and extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) have the potential to spread through faecal waste, resulting in contamination of food and causing foodborne disease outbreaks. With the aim of characterizing unpasteurized ovine cheese in Slovakia, a total of 92 E. coli strains were examined for eleven representative virulence genes typical for (extra-)intestinal pathogenic E. coli and phylogenetic grouping. Phylogenetic groups B1 (36%) and A (32%) were the most dominant, followed by groups C (14%) and D (13%), while the lowest incidence was recorded for F (4%), and E (1%), and 43 (47%) samples carried at least one virulent gene, i.e., potential pathogens. Isolates present in groups E, F and D showed higher presence of virulence genes (100%, 75%, and 67%), versus 55%, 39%, and 28% in commensal B1, C, and A, respectively. Occurrence of papC and fyuA (both 24%) was highest, followed by tsh, iss, stx2, cnf1, kpsII, cvaC, stx1, iutA and eaeA. Nine E. coli strains (almost 10% of all tested and around 21% of our virulence-gene-associated isolates) harboured stx1, stx2 or eae. Ovine cheeses in Slovakia are highly contaminated with E. coli including potentially pathogenic strains capable of causing intestinal and/or extra-intestinal diseases, and thus may pose a threat to public health while unpasteurized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance of Enterobacterales)
Article
Successful Dissemination of Plasmid-Mediated Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases in Enterobacterales over Humans to Wild Fauna
Microorganisms 2021, 9(7), 1471; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9071471 - 09 Jul 2021
Viewed by 510
Abstract
Background: The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria remains poorly understood in the wild ecosystem and at the interface of habitats. Here, we explored the spread of Escherichia coli containing IncI1-ST3 plasmid encoding resistance gene cefotaximase-Munich-1 (blaCTX-M-1) in human-influenced habitats and wild [...] Read more.
Background: The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria remains poorly understood in the wild ecosystem and at the interface of habitats. Here, we explored the spread of Escherichia coli containing IncI1-ST3 plasmid encoding resistance gene cefotaximase-Munich-1 (blaCTX-M-1) in human-influenced habitats and wild fauna using a genomic approach. Methods. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), single-nucleotide polymorphism comparison, synteny-based analysis and data mining approaches were used to analyse a dataset of genomes and circularised plasmids. Results. CTX-M-1 E. coli sequence types (STs) were preferentially associated with ecosystems. Few STs were shared by distinct habitats. IncI1-ST3-blaCTX-M-1 plasmids are disseminated among all E. coli phylogroups. The main divergences in plasmids were located in a shuffling zone including blaCTX-M-1 inserted in a conserved site. This insertion hot spot exhibited diverse positions and orientations in a zone-modulating conjugation, and the resulting synteny was associated with geographic and biological sources. Conclusions. The ecological success of IncI1-ST3-blaCTX-M-1 appears less linked to the spread of their bacterial recipients than to their ability to transfer in a broad spectrum of bacterial lineages. This feature is associated with the diversity of their shuffling conjugation region that contain blaCTX-M-1. These might be involved in the resistance to antimicrobials, but also in their spread. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance of Enterobacterales)
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Article
Antibiotic Resistant and Biofilm-Associated Escherichia coli Isolates from Diarrheic and Healthy Dogs
Microorganisms 2021, 9(6), 1334; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061334 - 19 Jun 2021
Viewed by 569
Abstract
Bacteria isolated from companion animals are attracting concerns in a view of public health including antimicrobial resistance and biofilm development, both contributing to difficult-to-treat infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 18 antibiotics in Escherichia [...] Read more.
Bacteria isolated from companion animals are attracting concerns in a view of public health including antimicrobial resistance and biofilm development, both contributing to difficult-to-treat infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 18 antibiotics in Escherichia coli isolated from two groups of dogs (healthy and diarrheic). Isolates were classified into phylogroups, examined for the presence of resistance genes and biofilm-formation capacity. In healthy dogs, phylogenetic analysis showed that 47.37% and 34.22% of E. coli isolates belonged to commensal groups (A; B1) in contrast to diarrheic dogs; 42.2% of isolates were identified as the B2 phylogroup, and these E. coli bacteria formed a stronger biofilm. The results of healthy dogs showed higher MIC levels for tetracycline (32 mg/L), ampicillin (64 mg/L), ciprofloxacin (8 mg/L) and trimethoprim-sulphonamide (8 mg/L) compared to clinical breakpoints. The most detected gene encoding plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones in the healthy group was qnrB, and in dogs with diarrhea, qnrS. The resistance genes were more frequently detected in healthy dogs. The presence of the integron int1 and the transposon tn3 increases the possibility of transfer of many different cassette-associated antibiotic-resistance genes. These results suggest that dogs could be a potential reservoir of resistance genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virulence Factors and Antibiotic Resistance of Enterobacterales)
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