Klaas D'Haene

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Tetracycline Resistance in Enterococcus Isolates from Food

ABSTRACT In the present study, a collection of 187 Enterococcus food isolates mainly originating from European cheeses were studied for the phenotypic and genotypic assessment of tetracycline (TC) resistance. A total of 45 isolates (24%) encompassing the species Enterococcus faecalis (n = 33), E. durans (n = 7), E. faecium (n = 3), E. casseliflavus (n = 1), and E. gallinarum (n = 1) displayed phenotypic resistance to TC with MIC ranges of 16 to 256 μg/ml. Eight of these strains exhibited multiresistance to TC, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol. By PCR detection, TC resistance could be linked to the presence of the tet(M) (n = 43), tet(L) (n = 16), and tet(S) (n = 1) genes. In 15 isolates, including all of those for which the MIC was 256 μg/ml, both tet(M) and tet(L) were found. Furthermore, all tet(M)-containing enterococci also harbored a member of the Tn916-Tn1545 conjugative transposon family, of which 12 erythromycin-resistant isolates also contained the erm(B) gene. Filter mating experiments revealed that 10 E. faecalis isolates, 3 E. durans isolates, and 1 E. faecium isolate could transfer either tet(M), tet(L), or both of these genes to E. faecalis recipient strain JH2-2. In most cases in which only tet(M) was transferred, no detectable plasmids were acquired by JH2-2 but instead all transconjugants contained a member of the Tn916-Tn1545 family. Sequencing analysis of PCR amplicons and evolutionary modeling showed that a subset of the transferable tet(M) genes belonged to four sequence homology groups (SHGs) showing an internal homology of ≥99.6%. Two of these SHGs contained tet(M) mosaic structures previously found in Tn916 elements and on Lactobacillus and Neisseria plasmids, respectively, whereas the other two SHGs probably represent new phylogenetic lineages of this gene.

Influence of the culture medium on antibiotic susceptibility testing of food‐associated lactic acid bacteria with the agar overlay disc diffusion method

Aims: To investigate the influence of the culture medium on antibiotic susceptibility testing of food‐associated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with the agar overlay disc diffusion (DD) method.

Diversity of lactic acid bacteria from modified atmosphere packaged sliced cooked meat products at sell-by date assessed by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

The predominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) microbiota associated with three types of modified atmosphere packaged (MAP) sliced cooked meat products (i.e. ham, turkey and chicken) was analyzed at sell-by date using a combination of culturing and molecular population fingerprinting. Likewise routine analyses during industrial MAP production, meat samples were plated on the general heterotrophic Plate Count Agar (PCA) and on the LAB-specific de Man, Rogosa, Sharpe (MRS) agar under different temperature and atmosphere conditions. Subsequently, community DNA extracts were prepared from culturable bacterial fractions harvested from both media and used for PCR targeting the V3 hyper-variable region of the 16S rRNA gene followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR amplicons (PCR-DGGE). Irrespective of aerobic or anaerobic incubation conditions, V3-16S rDNA DGGE fingerprints of culturable fractions from PCA and MRS medium displayed a high level of similarity indicating that LAB constituted the most dominant group in the culturable bacterial community. Comparison of DGGE profiles of fractions grown at 20, 28 or 37 degrees C indicated that part of the culturable community consisted of psychrotrophs. Four DGGE bands were common among cooked ham, turkey and chicken products, suggesting that these represent the microbiota circulating in the plant where all three MAP product types were sliced and packaged. Based on band sequencing and band position analysis using LAB reference strains, these four bands could be assigned to Lactobacillus sakei and/or the closely related Lactobacillus fuchuensis, Lactobacillus curvatus, Carnobacterium divergens and Leuconostoc carnosum. In conclusion, the PCR-DGGE approach described in this study allows to discriminate, identify and monitor core and occasional LAB microbiota of MAP sliced cooked meat products and provides valuable complementary information to the current plating procedures routinely used in industrial plants.

Genetic Basis of Tetracycline and Minocycline Resistance in Potentially Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Strain CCUG 43738

ABSTRACT The potentially probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum CCUG 43738, which displayed atypical phenotypic resistance to tetracycline (MIC, 512 μg/ml) and minocycline (MIC, 256 μg/ml), was found to contain a tet(S) gene located on a plasmid of approximately 14 kb. Plasmid curing with novobiocin eliminated this plasmid and restored the tetracycline-susceptible phenotype of the host strain.

Molecular Diversity and Characterization of Tetracycline-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from a Poultry Processing Plant

ABSTRACT DNA fingerprinting and molecular characterization showed that the tetracycline-resistant Staphylococcus aureus population of a South African poultry processing plant comprised one or possibly several tet(K)-containing endemic clones that contaminated chicken and machinery surfaces at all sampled processing stages. The tet(K) gene was transferable by filter mating to S. aureus recipient 80CR5 and was located on a pT181-like plasmid.

Intra- and Interlaboratory Performances of Two Commercial Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Methods for Bifidobacteria and Nonenterococcal Lactic Acid Bacteria

ABSTRACT In a small-scale harmonization study involving nine laboratories in eight European countries, the intra- and interlaboratory performances of two commercially available systems, i.e., the VetMIC microplate system and Etest, for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of nonenterococcal lactic acid bacteria (NELAB) and bifidobacteria were analyzed. In addition, one laboratory also performed standard broth microdilution as a reference method. MICs of tetracycline, erythromycin, ampicillin, gentamicin, clindamycin, and streptomycin for the type strains of 25 species of NELAB and bifidobacteria and MICs of vancomycin for a selection of relevant taxa were determined. The previously described lactic acid bacterium susceptibility test medium (LSM) and related mixed-medium formulations, all including Iso-Sensitest broth as a basic component, were used as test media. The overall agreement of median MIC ranges ± 1 log2 dilution determined by the VetMIC and Etest methods with the median MICs determined by the reference method was very good for tetracycline, ampicillin, and streptomycin (92.3 to 100%) but low for erythromycin (19.5 to 30.7%) and clindamycin (50.0 to 80.8%). There was a consensus among the participating laboratories that VetMIC was preferred over Etest because of its lower cost, better growth support, and more uniform criteria for MIC end point reading. With the range for acceptable intralaboratory reproducibility being defined as the median MIC ± 1 log2 dilution, VetMIC results (with 69.2% of all data sets in the acceptable range) were shown to display greater reproducibility than Etest results (with 58.8% of all data sets in the acceptable range). Also at the interlaboratory level, the proportion of MIC values obtained with VetMIC that belonged to the complete agreement category (60.0%) was higher than the proportion of such values obtained with Etest (47.0%), which indicates a higher degree of interlaboratory reproducibility for the former method. Apart from some agent-specific effects, the majority of VetMIC and Etest replicate data sets were situated within a 1- to 2-log2 dilution range, suggesting that the two methods can be considered to be equivalent for recognizing resistance phenotypes. This multicenter study has further validated the standard use of LSM and related mixed-medium formulations with commercially available systems and formed the basis for the ongoing development of the ISO 10932/IDF 223 standard for susceptibility testing of NELAB and bifidobacteria.

Antibiotic resistance and virulence traits of enterococci isolated from Baylough, an Irish artisanal cheese.

Eight representative Enterococcus strains from a collection of over 600 previously isolated from an Irish artisanal cheese were subjected to phenotypic and genotypic analysis of antibiotic resistance and virulence properties. Genes encoding resistance to tetracycline (tet(M) and tet(L)) and/or erythromycin (erm(B)) were detected in five strains. In addition, all strains contained two or more of the virulence genes tested (agg, gel, cyl, esp, ace, efaAfs, and efaAfm). Further investigation into the transferability and environmental dissemination of these resistance and virulence traits will allow risk assessment and safety evaluation of artisanal cheeses.