Expression of the marA, soxS, acrB and ramA genes related to the AcrAB/TolC efflux pump in Salmonella entérica strains with and without quinolone resistance-determining regions gyrA gene mutations

Several studies have been conducted in recent years to elucidate the structure, function and significance of AcrB, MarA, SoxS and RamA in Salmonella enterica. In this study, the relative quantification of acrB, soxS, marA and ramA genes expression was evaluated in 14 strains of S. enterica, with or without accompanying mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the gyrA gene, that were exposed to ciprofloxacin during the exponential growth phase. The presence of ciprofloxacin during the log phase of bacterial growth activated the genes marA, soxS, ramA and acrB in all S. enterica strains analyzed in this study. The highest expression levels for acrB were observed in strains with gyrA mutation, and marA showed the highest expression in the strains without mutation. Considering only the strains with ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration values < 0.125 [1]g/mL (sensitive to ciprofloxacin), the most expressed gene in the strains both with and without mutations was acrB. In the strains with ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration values > 0.125 [1]g/mL (low susceptibility), with and without mutations in gyrA, the most expressed gene was marA. In this study, we observed that strains resistant to nalidixic acid may express genes associated with the efflux pump and the expression of the AcrAB-TolC pump genes seems to occur independently of mutations in gyrA.

Commercially laid eggs vs. discarded hatching eggs: contamination by Salmonella spp

Salmonella enterica is frequently associated with outbreaks of human salmonellosis, and products of avian origin, such as eggs and chicken meat, are the main vehicles of its transmission. The present study describes the occurrence of different serovars of Salmonella enterica and phagotypes of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis in eggs destined for human consumption. Four thousand eggs obtained from commercial egg laying farms and one thousand discarded hatching eggs from broiler farms, which were acquired at farmers' markets and informal shops, were analyzed. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 52.0% of the discarded hatching eggs, in which the predominant serovar was Enteritidis (84.6%), and the predominant Salmonella Enteritidis phagotype (PT) was PT7 (26.9%). Salmonella spp. was not isolated from eggs obtained from commercial egg laying farms. The antimicrobial resistance profile showed that 23.1% (n = 6) of the SE strains were resistant to nalidixic acid. The results suggest that the consumption of discarded hatching eggs represents an important source of Salmonella transmission to humans.

Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and mutations in the topoisomerase genes of Salmonella enterica strains from Brazil

The objective of this study was to identify mutations in the Quinolone Resistance Determining sources Regions (QRDR) of the gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes and to determine if any of the qnr variants or the aac(6')-Ib-cr variant were present in strains of Salmonella spp. isolated in Brazil. A total of 126 Salmonella spp. strains from epidemic (n = 114) and poultry (n = 12) origin were evaluated. One hundred and twelve strains (88.8%) were resistant to nalidixic acid (NAL) and 29 (23.01%) showed a reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (Cip). The mutations identified were substitutions limited to the QRDR of the gyrA gene in the codons for Serine 83, Aspartate 87 and Alanine 131. The sensitivity to NAL seems to be a good phenotypic indication of distinguishing mutated and nonmutated strains in the QRDR, however the double mutation in gyrA did not cause resistance to ciprofloxacin. The qnrA1 and qnrB19 genes were detected, respectively, in one epidemic strain of S. Enteritidis and one strain of S. Corvallis of poultry origin. Despite previous detection of qnr genes in Brazil, this is the first report of qnr gene detection in Salmonella, and also the first detection of qnrB19 gene in this country. The results alert for the continuous monitoring of quinolone resistance determinants in order to minimize the emergence and selection of Salmonella spp. strains showing reduced susceptibility or resistance to quinolones.

Ciprofloxacin susceptibility reduction of salmonella strains isolated from outbreaks

The antimicrobial susceptibility of 212 Salmonella strains isolated from patients and foods was evaluated and 45 percent were found to be resistant to nalidixic acid. Nalidixic acid resistant strains showed a higher minimal inhibitory concentration for ciprofloxacin than sensitive strains. During the study an increase of strains with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin was also observed.