Characterization of ESBL- and AmpC-Producing and Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Mouflons (Ovis orientalis musimon) in Austria and Germany

PLoS One. 2016 May 18;11(5):e0155786. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155786. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of β-lactamase producing or fluoroquinolone-resistant members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in European mouflons (Ovis orientalis musimon). The mouflon samples originated from nasal and perineal swabs and/or organ samples in cases of a suspected infection. Only one of the 32 mouflons was tested positive for the presence of Enterobacteriaceae that displayed either an ESBL/AmpC phenotype or were resistant to ciprofloxacin. The positively tested swab originated from a sample of the jejunal mucosa of a four-year old female mouflon. Two different colony morphotypes were identified as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. These isolates were phenotypically and genotypically characterized in detail by a polyphasic approach. Both isolates were multi-drug resistant. The E. coli isolate belonged to the phylogenetic group B1 and sequence type (ST) 744 and harboured the β-lactamase genes blaCTX-M-15 and blaOXA-1. The K. pneumoniae, identified as ST11, harboured the β-lactamase genes blaSHV-11, blaOXA-1, and blaDHA-1 as well as the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene qnrB55. The present study demonstrates that wild animals can acquire human-derived resistance determinants and such findings may indicate environmental pollution with resistance determinants from other sources.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial*
  • Enterobacteriaceae / drug effects
  • Enterobacteriaceae / enzymology*
  • Enterobacteriaceae / genetics
  • Enterobacteriaceae / isolation & purification
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Jejunum / microbiology
  • Quinolones / pharmacology*
  • Sheep / microbiology
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Quinolones
  • AmpC beta-lactamases
  • beta-Lactamases

Grants and funding

This study was supported by internal funding. R.E. and S.M. are employees of Alere Technologies GmbH, the company that manufactures the microarrays used in this study. Alere Technolgies GmbH had no influence on study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.