AUTHOR=Liu Lijuan , Dong Zhiyou , Ai Shengquan , Chen Shanyu , Dong Mengyao , Li Qianlan , Zhou Ziyao , Liu Haifeng , Zhong Zhijun , Ma Xiaoping , Hu Yanchun , Ren Zhihua , Fu Hualin , Shu Gang , Qiu Xianmeng , Peng Guangneng 

TITLE=Virulence-related factors and antimicrobial resistance in Proteus mirabilis isolated from domestic and stray dogs

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1141418

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1141418

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Proteus mirabilis</italic> is a multi-host pathogen that causes diseases of varying severity in a wide range of mammals, including humans. <italic>Proteus mirabilis</italic> is resistant to multiple antibiotics and has acquired the ability to produce expanded spectrum of β-lactamases, leading to serious public health problems. However, the available information on <italic>P. mirabilis</italic> isolated from feces of dogs, is still poorly understood, as is the correlation between its virulence-associated genes (VAGs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs).</p></sec><sec><title>Method</title><p>In this study, we isolated 75 strains of <italic>P. mirabilis</italic> from 241 samples, and investigated the swarming motility, biofilm formation, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), distribution of VAGs and ARGs, as well as the presence of class 1, 2, and 3 integrons in these isolates.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Our findings suggest a high prevalence of intensive swarming motility and strong biofilm formation ability among <italic>P. mirabilis</italic> isolates. Isolates were primarily resistant to cefazolin (70.67%) and imipenem (70.67%). These isolates were found to carry <italic>ureC</italic>, <italic>FliL</italic>, <italic>ireA</italic>, <italic>zapA</italic>, <italic>ptA</italic>, <italic>hpmA</italic>, <italic>hpmB</italic>, <italic>pmfA</italic>, <italic>rsbA</italic>, <italic>mrpA</italic>, and <italic>ucaA</italic> with varying prevalence levels of 100.00, 100.00, 100.00, 98.67, 98.67, 90.67, 90.67, 90.67, 90.67, 89.33, and 70.67%, respectively. Additionally, the isolates were found to carry <italic>aac(6′)-Ib</italic>, <italic>qnrD</italic>, <italic>floR</italic>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>CTX-M</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>CTX-M-2</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>OXA-1</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>TEM</sub>, <italic>tetA</italic>, <italic>tetB</italic> and <italic>tetM</italic> with varying prevalence levels of 38.67, 32.00, 25.33, 17.33, 16.00, 10.67, 5.33, 2.67, 1.33, and 1.33%, respectively. Among 40 MDR strains, 14 (35.00%) were found to carry class 1 integrons, 12 (30.00%) strains carried class 2 integrons, while no class 3 integrons was detected. There was a significant positive correlation between the class 1 integrons and three ARGs: <italic>bla</italic><sub>TEM</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>CTX-M</sub>, and <italic>bla</italic><sub>CTX-M-2</sub>. This study revealed that <italic>P. mirabilis</italic> strains isolated from domestic dogs exhibited a higher prevalence of MDR, and carried fewer VAGs but more ARGs compared to those isolated from stay dogs. Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between VAGs and ARGs.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Given the increasing antimicrobial resistance of <italic>P. mirabilis</italic>, veterinarians should adopt a prudent approach towards antibiotics administration in dogs to mitigate the emergence and dissemination of MDR strains that pose a potential threat to public health.</p></sec>