IMR Press / FBL / Volume 29 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2903112
Open Access Original Research
Antimicrobial Resistance and the Genomic Epidemiology of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis ST11 in China
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1 Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Medical Center, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, 100853 Beijing, China
2 Department of Microbiology Laboratory, Beijing Chaoyang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 100021 Beijing, China
3 National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, 100050 Beijing, China
4 Department of Diarrheal Disease Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 102206 Beijing, China
*Correspondence: cuishenghui@aliyun.com (Shenghui Cui); wangcbin301@163.com (Chengbin Wang)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2024, 29(3), 112; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2903112
Submitted: 14 July 2023 | Revised: 15 September 2023 | Accepted: 1 December 2023 | Published: 19 March 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: With the recent evolution of multidrug-resistant strains, the genetic characteristics of foodborne Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and clinical isolates have changed. ST11 is now the most common genotype associated with S. Enteritidis isolates. Methods: A total of 83 strains of S. Enteritidis were collected at the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army. Of these, 37 were from aseptic sites in patients, 11 were from the feces of patients with diarrhea, and the remaining 35 were of chicken-origin. The minimum inhibitory concentration of S. Enteritidis was determined by the broth microdilution method. Genomic DNA was extracted using the QiAamp DNA Mini Kit, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed using an Illumina X-ten platform. Prokka was used for gene prediction and annotation, and bioinformatic analysis tools included Resfinder, ISFinder, Virulence Factor Database, and PlasmidFinder. IQ-TREE was used to build a maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree. The phylogenetic relationship and distribution of resistance genes was displayed using iTOL. Comparative population genomics was used to analyze the phenotypes and genetic characteristics of antibiotic resistance in clinical and chicken-origin isolates of S. Enteritidis. Results: The chicken-origin S. Enteritidis isolates were more resistant to antibiotics than clinical isolates, and had a broader antibiotic resistance spectrum and higher antibiotic resistance rate. A higher prevalence of antibiotic-resistance genes was observed in chicken-origin S. Enteritidis compared to clinical isolates, along with distinct patterns in the contextual characteristics of these genes. Notably, genes such as blaCTX-M and dfrA17 were exclusive to plasmids in clinical S. Enteritidis, whereas in chicken-origin S. Enteritidis they were found in both plasmids and chromosomes. Additionally, floR was significantly more prevalent in chicken-origin isolates than in clinical isolates. Careful analysis revealed that the delayed isolation of chicken-origin S. Enteritidis contributes to accelerated gene evolution. Of note, certain resistance genes tend to integrate seamlessly and persist steadfastly within the chromosome, thereby expediting the evolution of resistance mechanisms against antibiotics. Our comparative analysis of virulence genes in S. Enteritidis strains from various sources found no substantial disparities in the distribution of other virulence factors. In summary, we propose that chicken-origin S. Enteritidis has the potential to cause clinical infections. Moreover, the ongoing evolution and dissemination of these drug-resistant genes poses a formidable challenge to clinical treatment. Conclusions: Constant vigilance is needed to monitor the dynamic patterns of drug resistance in S. Enteritidis strains sourced from diverse origins.

Keywords
Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis
WGS
antimicrobial resistance
virulence gene
population genomics
Funding
82002206/National Natural Science Foundation of China
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