Molecular insights into novel environmental strains of harboring different antimicrobial-resistance genes.

INTRODUCTION

The emergence of bacterial pathogens in environmental hosts represents a major risk to public health. This study aimed at characterizing seven novel environmental strains of using a genomic approach which was misidentified by phenotypic methods in a previous batch of 27 species thought to be .

METHODS

Whole-genome sequencing was performed using the Illumina platform, and the generated raw reads were assembled. Comparative genomic, resistome, virulome, mobilome, and phylogeny were then investigated using dierent bioinformatics tools.

RESULTS

Six strains were identified as subsp and one as subsp. . All isolates were resistant to ampicillin, cephalexin, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and harbored the , types, , and genes. One isolate additionally harbored a gene cassettes consisting of , , ' genes. The aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme gene was bracketed by two insertion elements. Plasmid analyses showed that IncFIB was the most prevalent plasmid, circulating in six isolates, while one isolate exhibited seven different plasmids. The isolates have virulence genes responsible for capsule formation, lipopolysaccharide, iron uptake aerobactin (), salmochelins (), enterobactin siderophore, adherence, and biofilm formation (, and ).

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights the ecology and transmission of (which have the ability to disseminate to other environmental sources including animals) outside the clinical setting and the contribution of water, vegetables, and table surfaces as potential reservoirs of farm-to-fork transmission of disease via local markets in Khartoum, Sudan.