Eger Elias, Domke Marielle, Heiden Stefan E, Paditz Madeleine, Balau Veronika, Huxdorff Christiane, Zimmermann Dirk, Homeier-Bachmann Timo, Schaufler Katharina
Institute of Infection Medicine, Christian-Albrecht University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, 17489 Greifswald, Germany.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Jul 26;11(8):1006. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11081006.
Studies have previously described the occurrence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli in human and veterinary medical settings, livestock, and, to a lesser extent, in the environment and food. While they mostly analyzed foodborne E. coli regarding phenotypic and sometimes genotypic antibiotic resistance and basic phylogenetic classification, we have limited understanding of the in vitro and in vivo virulence characteristics and global phylogenetic contexts of these bacteria. Here, we investigated in-depth an E. coli strain (PBIO3502) isolated from a pork sausage in Germany in 2021. Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed sequence type (ST)58, which has an internationally emerging high-risk clonal lineage. In addition to its MDR phenotype that mostly matched the genotype, PBIO3502 demonstrated pronounced virulence features, including in vitro biofilm formation, siderophore secretion, serum resilience, and in vivo mortality in Galleria mellonella larvae. Along with the genomic analysis indicating close phylogenetic relatedness of our strain with publicly available, clinically relevant representatives of the same ST, these results suggest the zoonotic and pathogenic character of PBIO3502 with the potential to cause infection in humans and animals. Additionally, our study highlights the necessity of the One Health approach while integrating human, animal, and environmental health, as well as the role of meat products and food chains in the putative transmission of MDR pathogens.
此前的研究已描述了耐多药（MDR）大肠杆菌在人类和兽医医疗环境、家畜中出现的情况，在环境和食物中出现的情况相对较少。虽然这些研究大多分析了食源性大肠杆菌的表型抗生素耐药性，有时也分析了基因型抗生素耐药性以及基本的系统发育分类，但我们对这些细菌的体外和体内毒力特征以及全球系统发育背景了解有限。在此，我们深入研究了2021年从德国一根猪肉香肠中分离出的一株大肠杆菌（PBIO3502）。全基因组序列分析显示其序列型（ST）为58，这是一种在国际上新兴的高风险克隆谱系。除了其大多与基因型匹配的耐多药表型外，PBIO3502还表现出显著的毒力特征，包括体外生物膜形成、铁载体分泌、血清耐受性以及在大蜡螟幼虫体内的致死性。基因组分析表明我们的菌株与公开可用的、具有临床相关性的相同序列型代表在系统发育上密切相关，这些结果表明PBIO3502具有人畜共患病原体的特征，有可能在人和动物中引起感染。此外，我们的研究强调了“同一健康”方法在整合人类、动物和环境健康方面的必要性，以及肉类产品和食物链在耐多药病原体假定传播中的作用。
