Coexistence of optrA and fexA in Campylobacter

Abstract

Previous studies indicated that Campylobacter has developed several mechanisms that confer resistance to florfenicol, which is used in food animal production. This study describes the coexistence of optrA and fexA in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from pigs and poultry. Moreover, whole-genome sequencing data showed that the two genes are located in various multidrug resistance genomic islands within different regions of the Campylobacter genomes. The emergence of optrA and fexA may support the spread of florfenicol-resistant Campylobacter strains of animal origin. IMPORTANCE Florfenicol is widely used for the treatment of respiratory infections and as a feed additive in food animal production. As a foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter is constantly exposed to florfenicol, and resistance to this antimicrobial agent has increased in recent years. Previous studies indicated that Campylobacter has developed several mechanisms that confer resistance to florfenicol. This study describes for the first time the coexistence of the florfenicol exporter FexA and the ribosomal protective protein OptrA in Campylobacter jejuni isolated from pigs. The two genes were located in various multidrug resistance genomic islands within different regions of the Campylobacter genomes. Although phenicols are not commonly used for the treatment of Campylobacter infections, the extensive use of florfenicol in food animals may play a role in the coselection of multidrug resistance genomic island (MDRGI)-carrying Campylobacter isolates which also exhibited resistance to critically important antimicrobial agents (macrolides, aminoglycosides, and tetracyclines) commonly used for the treatment of human campylobacteriosis.

Antimicrobial resistance and genomic characterization of Escherichia coli from pigs and chickens in Zhejiang, China

“…It is helpful to better understand AMR’s development and transmission ( Teng et al, 2022 ). WGS has become an indispensable and reliable tool for revealing the AMR mechanism in global pathogen surveillance ( Boolchandani et al, 2019 ; Tang et al, 2021a ; Yang et al, 2022 ).…”

Genomic Insights into the Increased Occurrence of Campylobacteriosis Caused by Antimicrobial-Resistant Campylobacter coli

“…Some antimicrobial resistance genes have been recurrently identified in C. coli in recent years, including erm (B), which is associated with macrolide resistance ( 34 ), fexA and optrA , which are associated with phenicol resistance, cfr (C), which is associated with MDR, and a variant of the potent multidrug efflux pump gene operon cmeABC ( RE-cmeABC ) ( 35 – 38 ). To date, at least 12 types of multidrug resistance gene islands (MDRGI) have been identified in C. coli ( 39 , 40 ). Antimicrobial resistance genes have made a significantly higher contribution to antimicrobial resistance of C. coli in China than in other countries ( 41 ).…”

Zoonotic and antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter: a view through the One Health lens

“…Recent studies have discovered a plethora of antibiotic resistance determinants that were horizontally transferred to Campylobacter. Some examples include erm(B) and erm(N) for macrolide resistance [75][76][77][78][79], fexA, optrA, and cfr(C) for florfenicol resistance [80][81][82][83][84], and tet(L) for tetracycline resistance [85]. The emergence and spread of these AMR genes in Campylobacter were likely driven by the use of antibiotics in food producing animals.…”