Preliminary study of the transmission potential of AMR and virulence genes in the E. coli wild boars isolates
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Background:
Escherichia coli occurring in wild animals can be a transmission vector of AMR (antimicrobial resistance) and virulence genes in the environment. Wildlife could be a source of resistant or virulent bacteria to farm animals and/or people. The risk of spreading these genes to other bacteria increases significantly when they are located on the mobile elements of the genome.
Materials/methods:
One hundred E. coli collected from wild boars (faecal samples) hunted in Poland (EFFORT project) were tested for antimicrobial resistance (MIC). The only six isolates exhibiting antimicrobial resistance towards aminoglycosides, sulphonamides or ß-lactams, and ten random pan-susceptible control isolates were whole genome sequenced (Illumina, MiSeq). To define localisation of AMR and virulence genes in two strains (one resistant ST10 and ST753 carrying stx genes) MinION sequencing (Oxford Nanopore) and hybrid assembly (UniCycler) were performed. Genome analysis was carried out using CGE tools (MLST, ResFinder, PlasmidFinder, VirulenceFinder, SerotypeFinder).
