AUTHOR=Oliveira de Araujo Gabriella , Huff Rosana , Favarini Marina Ochoa , Mann Michele Bertoni , Peters Felipe Bortolotto , Frazzon Jeverson , Guedes Frazzon Ana Paula 

TITLE=Multidrug Resistance in Enterococci Isolated From Wild Pampas Foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus) and Geoffroy's Cats (Leopardus geoffroyi) in the Brazilian Pampa Biome

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.606377

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2020.606377

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>Enterococci are ubiquitous microorganisms present in various environments and within the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Notably, fecal enterococci are suitable indicators for monitoring antimicrobial resistance dissemination. Resistant bacterial strains recovered from the fecal samples of wild animals can highlight important aspects of environmental disturbances. In this report, we investigated antimicrobial susceptibility as well as resistance and virulence genes in fecal enterococci isolated from wild Pampas foxes (<italic>Lycalopex gymnocercus</italic>) (<italic>n</italic> = 5) and Geoffroy's cats (<italic>Leopardus geoffroyi</italic>) (<italic>n</italic> = 4) in the Brazilian Pampa biome. Enterococci were isolated from eight out of nine fecal samples and <italic>Enterococcus faecalis</italic> was identified in both animals. However, <italic>E. faecium</italic> and <italic>E. durans</italic> were only detected in Pampas foxes, while <italic>E. hirae</italic> was only detected in Geoffroy's cats. Antimicrobial susceptibility analysis showed resistance to rifampicin (94%), erythromycin (72.6%), ciprofloxacin/norfloxacin (40%), streptomycin (38%), and tetracycline (26%). The high frequency of multidrug-resistant enterococci (66%) isolated in this study is a matter of concern since these are wild animals with no history of therapeutic antibiotic exposure. The <italic>tet</italic>M/<italic>tet</italic>L and <italic>msr</italic>C/<italic>erm</italic>B genes were detected in most tetracycline- and erythromycin-resistant enterococci, respectively. The <italic>gelE, ace, agg, esp</italic>, and <italic>clyA</italic> virulence genes were also detected in enterococci. In conclusion, our data suggest that habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic activities in the Pampa biome may contribute to high frequencies of multidrug-resistant enterococci in the gut communities of wild Pampas foxes and Geoffroy's cats. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of antimicrobial-resistant enterococci in the Pampa biome.</p>