Profile of Aliarcobacter spp. from edible giblets: Genetic diversity, antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation.

Aliarcobacter spp. are recognized as emerging foodborne pathogens and consumption of foods contaminated with them can be a hazard to human and animal health. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Aliarcobacter spp. in edible internal organs of different animal species from retail markets and giblet sellers. Additionally, this study was focused on the antimicrobial resistance, virulence profiles, biofilm-forming capabilities, and phylogenetic relationships of obtained isolates. A total of 270 samples were analyzed from which, 28 (10.4 %) were isolated as Aliarcobacter spp. by conventional methods. Within the 28 Aliarcobacter spp. isolates, 17 (60.7 %) were identified as A. butzleri, 10 (35.7 %) were A. cryaerophilus and one (3.5 %) was A. skirrowii by PCR method. The disc diffusion method showed that the highest resistance rate of Aliarcobacter spp. was seen against oxacillin (78.5 %), and 20 (71.4 %) out of the 28 isolates exhibited multidrug resistance (MDR). Out of the 28 isolates, mviN, pldA, tlyA, and hecB virulence genes were detected in 85.7 %, 46.4 %, 46.4 %, and 3.5 %, respectively, but irgA, Cj1349, ciaB, cadF, and hecA genes were not detected. According to the microplate test, 27 (96.4 %) isolates had weak biofilm ability while one A. cryaerophilus isolate (3.6 %) exhibited strong biofilm formation. ERIC-PCR band patterns suggested that isolated Aliarcobacter spp. from giblets, have different contamination sources. The presence of pathogenic and multidrug-resistant Aliarcobacter spp. in food poses a potential risk to public health and control measures throughout the food chain are necessary to prevent the spread of these strains.