Skowron Krzysztof, Borkowski Wiktor, Wiktorczyk-Kapischke Natalia, Budzyńska Anna, Wilk Monika, Czuba Julia, Fiderewicz Jan, Skonieczna-Kurpiel Joanna, Grudlewska-Buda Katarzyna
Department of Microbiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 9 M. Skłodowska-Curie St., 85-094, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Solec Kujawski Forest District, 64 Leśna St., 86-050, Solec Kujawski, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 15;15(1):16957. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01492-3.
About 60% of the etiological agents of human infections are of animal origin, and the microorganisms causing them can be isolated not only from farmed and domestic animals, but also from wildlife. Enterococcus spp. may exhibit intrinsic or acquired resistance to many antibiotic groups, posing significant therapeutic challenges. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the antibiotic resistance and virulence genes of Enterococcus strains isolated from fecal samples of wild animals. The 118 strains were obtained from deer (n = 38), wild boar (n = 29), hare (n = 19), roe deer (n = 12), fallow deer (n = 5), raccoon dog (n = 4), fox (n = 4), moose (n = 2), polecat (n = 2), rabbit (n = 1), wolf (n = 1) and marten (n = 1). Antibiotic resistance assessments were performed using the disk diffusion method following the recommendations of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). The frequency of occurrence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) phenotypes, high-level streptomycin resistance (HLSR), high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR), and high-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) was also determined. The PCR was used to detect virulence genes (VGs) (agg, gelE, EfaAfs, ace, pil, ebpA, ebpB, ebpC, srtA, hyl, asa, cylA and cylB). The study revealed a high species diversity of Enterococcus spp. Among the 118 strains collected, 70 were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The majority of strains exhibited resistance to eravacycline, while the least resistance was observed against ampicillin. Strains with VRE, HLSR, HLGR, and HLAR phenotypes were identified. Multidrug resistant (MDR) strains were detected. However, extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pandrug-resistant (PDR) strains were not observed. The virulence factors were present in the tested strains, and the most frequently detected gene was agg encoding aggregation substance. We have provided evidence that healthy wild animals can be reservoirs of pathogenic Enterococcus strains, including MDR strains and with many VGs, which can be transmitted to humans.
约60%的人类感染病原体源自动物，引发感染的微生物不仅可从养殖动物和家畜中分离得到，也能从野生动物中分离得到。肠球菌属可能对许多抗生素类群表现出固有耐药性或获得性耐药性，这带来了重大的治疗挑战。本研究的目的是鉴定和评估从野生动物粪便样本中分离出的肠球菌菌株的抗生素耐药性和毒力基因。这118株菌株分别来自鹿（n = 38）、野猪（n = 29）、野兔（n = 19）、狍（n = 12）、黇鹿（n = 5）、貉（n = 4）、狐狸（n = 4）、驼鹿（n = 2）、黄鼬（n = 2）、家兔（n = 1）、狼（n = 1）和貂（n = 1）。按照欧洲抗菌药物敏感性试验委员会（EUCAST）的建议，采用纸片扩散法进行抗生素耐药性评估。还测定了耐万古霉素肠球菌（VRE）表型、高水平链霉素耐药（HLSR）、高水平庆大霉素耐药（HLGR）和高水平氨基糖苷类耐药（HLAR）的发生频率。采用聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测毒力基因（VGs）（agg、gelE、EfaAfs、ace、pil、ebpA、ebpB、ebpC、srtA、hyl、asa、cylA和cylB）。研究揭示了肠球菌属具有高度的物种多样性。在收集的118株菌株中，70株对至少一种抗生素耐药。大多数菌株对依拉环素耐药，而对氨苄西林耐药的情况最少。鉴定出了具有VRE、HLSR、HLGR和HLAR表型的菌株。检测到了多重耐药（MDR）菌株。然而，未观察到广泛耐药（XDR）和全耐药（PDR）菌株。受试菌株中存在毒力因子，最常检测到的基因是编码聚集物质的agg。我们提供了证据表明健康的野生动物可能是致病性肠球菌菌株的储存宿主，包括多重耐药菌株以及携带多种毒力基因的菌株，这些菌株可能会传播给人类。
