Methicillin-Resistant and Methicillin-Susceptible from Vervet Monkeys () in Saint Kitts.

Antimicrobial resistance has been described in all ecosystems, including wildlife. Here we investigated the presence of methicillin-resistant and susceptible staphylococci in both colony-born and wild vervet monkeys (). Through selective isolation, PCR, MALDI-TOF, and whole-genome sequencing, methicillin-resistant and susceptible spp. isolated from vervet monkeys were characterized. We obtained putatively methicillin-resistant staphylococci from 29 of the 34 nasal samples collected. Strains were identified by MALDI-TOF analysis. ( = 15) was the most commonly isolated species, while nine other species were isolated one or two times. PCR analysis indicated that eight [28%] strains were positive. The whole-genome sequencing [WGS] included eight methicillin-resistant strains ( ( = 2), ( = 3), ( = 2) and ( = 1)), nine additional strains and two strains that could not be identified by MALDI-TOF, but genetically characterized as one and one . Different resistance genes carried by different mobile genetic elements, mainly ( = 10) and (K) ( = 5) were found, while (A), , , , (C), (C) and were identified in one to three strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the strains based on SNPs indicated four clusters associated with colony born or wild. In addition, one singleton isolated did not form a separate group and clustered within other strains submitted to the NCBI. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of AMR and mobile genetic elements to both colony-born and wild vervet monkeys. We also identified a previously undescribed prevalence of in the nasal flora of these monkeys, which merits further investigation.