Public health implications of plasmid-mediated quinolone and aminoglycoside resistance genes in Escherichia coli inhabiting a major anthropogenic river of India

Abstract

Presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in Escherichia coli inhabiting anthropogenic rivers is an important public health concern because plasmid-mediated AMR genes can easily spread to other pathogens by horizontal gene transfer. Besides β-lactams, quinolones and aminoglycosides are the major antibiotics against E. coli. In the present study, we have investigated the presence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and aminoglycoside resistance genes in E. coli isolated from a major river of northern India. Our results revealed that majority of the strains were phenotypically susceptible for fluoroquinolones and some aminoglycosides like amikacin, netilmicin, tobramycin and gentamicin. However, 16.39% of the strains were resistant for streptomycin, 8.19% for kanamycin and 3.30% for gentamicin. Of the various PMQR genes investigated, only qnrS1 was present in 24.59% of the strains along with ISEcl2. Aminoglycoside-resistance genes like strA-strB were found to be present in 16.39%, aphA1 in 8.19% and aacC2 in only 3.30% of the strains. Though, no co-relation was observed between phenotypic resistance for fluorquinolones and presence of PMQR genes, phenotypic resistance for streptomycin, kanamycin and gentamicin exactly co-related with the presence of the genes strA-strB, aphA1 and aacC2, respectively. Moreover, all the AMR genes discerned in aquatic E. coli were found to be situated on conjugative plasmids and, thus easily transferrable. Our study accentuates the importance of routine surveillance of urban rivers to curtail the spread of AMR genes in aquatic pathogens.

Genomic analysis of phylogroup D Escherichia coli strains using novel de-novo reference-based guided assembly

“…Thus, to the best of our knowledge this is the first report describing the genomic features of three E. coli phylogroup D strains isolated from India. The strains E. coli IP9, E. coli KKA and E. coli IPE were earlier isolated from the river Yamuna, a major anthropogenic urban river of India 25 , 26 . The 22 km stretch of the river that traverses through the National Capital Region of India from which these strains were isolated, receives effluents from industries, hospitals, local population etc.…”

“…The antibiotic susceptibilities/resistance of these strains were determined by the standard disk diffusion assay and confirmed by gene sequencing of the relevant genes, and the results have been published 25 , 26 . Among these strains, E. coli IP9 was susceptible to all antibiotics tested, except ampicillin, E. coli KKA was a multi-β-lactam resistant strain 25 , 26 and E. coli IPE was a multidrug resistant strain (resistant to multiple β-lactams, fluoroquinolones and kanamycin) 25 , 26 .…”

Applying Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) for Pathogen Genomics at the Point of Care

“…For example, the presence of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes is an important concern because plasmid-mediated AMR genes can easily spread to other bacterial pathogens (Das 2023). Global crisis involving AMR rates outpacing the development of new antibiotics suggests this trend could result in common infections becoming difficult to treat or even untreatable, leading to longer treatment periods, longer hospital stays, higher medical costs, severe illness and death (Singh et al 2022).…”