AUTHOR=Rivera-Mendoza Daniel , Martínez-Flores Irma , Santamaría Rosa I. , Lozano Luis , Bustamante Víctor H. , Pérez-Morales Deyanira 

TITLE=Genomic Analysis Reveals the Genetic Determinants Associated With Antibiotic Resistance in the Zoonotic Pathogen Campylobacter spp. Distributed Globally

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.513070

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.513070

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The genus <italic>Campylobacter</italic> groups 32 Gram-negative bacteria species, several being zoonotic pathogens and a major cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide. Antibiotic resistant <italic>Campylobacter</italic> is considered by the World Health Organization as a high priority pathogen for research and development of new antibiotics. Genetic elements related to antibiotic resistance in the classical <italic>C. coli</italic> and <italic>C. jejuni</italic> species, which infect humans and livestock, have been analyzed in numerous studies, mainly focused on local geographical areas. However, the presence of these resistance determinants in other <italic>Campylobacter</italic> species, as well as in <italic>C. jejuni</italic> and <italic>C. coli</italic> strains distributed globally, remains poorly studied. In this work, we analyzed the occurrence and distribution of antibiotic resistance factors in 237 <italic>Campylobacter</italic> closed genomes available in NCBI, obtained from isolates collected worldwide, in different dates, from distinct hosts and comprising 22 <italic>Campylobacter</italic> species. Our data revealed 18 distinct genetic determinants, genes or point mutations in housekeeping genes, associated with resistance to antibiotics from aminoglycosides, β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, lincosamides, macrolides, phenicols or tetracyclines classes, which are differentially distributed among the <italic>Campylobacter</italic> species tested, on chromosomes or plasmids. Three resistance determinants, the <italic>bla</italic><sub>OXA–493</sub> and <italic>bla</italic><sub>OXA–576</sub> genes, putatively related to β-lactams resistance, as well as the <italic>lnu</italic>(AN2) gene, putatively related to lincosamides resistance, had not been reported in <italic>Campylobacter</italic>; thus, they represent novel determinants for antibiotic resistance in <italic>Campylobacter</italic> spp., which expands the insight on the <italic>Campylobacter</italic> resistome. Interestingly, we found that some of the genetic determinants associated with antibiotic resistance are <italic>Campylobacter</italic> species-specific; e.g., the <italic>bla</italic><sub>OXA–493</sub> gene and the T86V mutation in <italic>gyrA</italic> were found only in the <italic>C. lari</italic> group, whereas genes associated with aminoglycosides resistance were found only in <italic>C. jejuni</italic> and <italic>C. coli</italic>. Additional analyses revealed how are distributed the resistance and multidrug resistance <italic>Campylobacter</italic> genotypes assessed, with respect to hosts, geographical locations, and collection dates. Thus, our findings further expand the knowledge on the factors that can determine or favor the antibiotic resistance in <italic>Campylobacter</italic> species distributed globally, which can be useful to choose a suitable antibiotic treatment to control the zoonotic infections by these bacteria.</p>