Title
Long-term maintenance of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli carried by vampire bats and shared with livestock in Peru
Date Issued
01 March 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Benavides J.A.
Godreuil S.
Opazo-Capurro A.
Mahamat O.O.
Oravcova K.
Streicker D.G.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E. coli) have been reported in wildlife worldwide. Whether wildlife is a transient host of ESBL-E. coli or comprises an independently maintained reservoir is unknown. We investigated this question by longitudinally monitoring ESBL-E. coli in common vampire bats and nearby livestock in Peru. Among 388 bats from five vampire bat colonies collected over three years, ESBL-E. coli were detected at a low prevalence (10% in 2015, 4% in 2017 and 2018) compared to a high prevalence (48%) from 134 livestock sampled in 2017. All ESBL-E. coli were multidrug-resistant, and whole genome sequencing of 33 randomly selected ESBL-E. coli isolates (18 recovered from bats) detected 46 genes conferring resistance to antibiotics including third-generation cephalosporins (e.g., blaCTX-M-55, blaCTX-M-15, blaCTX-M-65, blaCTX-M-3, blaCTX-M-14), aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and colistin (mcr-1). The mcr-1 gene is reported for the first time on a wild bat in Latin America. ESBL-E. coli also carried 31 plasmid replicon types and 16 virulence genes. Twenty-three E. coli sequence types (STs) were detected, including STs involved in clinical infections worldwide (e.g., ST 167, ST 117, ST 10, ST 156 and ST 648). ESBL-E. coli with identical cgMLST (ST 167) were detected in the same bat roost in 2015 and 2017, and several ESBL-E. coli from different bat roosts clustered together in the cgMLST reconstruction, suggesting long-term maintenance of ESBL-E. coli within bats. Most antibiotic resistance and virulence genes were detected in E. coli from both host populations, while ESBL-E. coli ST 744 was found in a bat and a pig from the same locality, suggesting possible cross-species exchanges of genetic material and/or bacteria between bats and livestock. This study suggests that wild mammals can maintain multidrug-resistant bacteria and share them with livestock.
Volume
810
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Biología celular, Microbiología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85120936923
PubMed ID
Source
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN of the container
00489697
Sponsor(s)
We thank C. Tello and Elizabeth Rojas-Paniagua for assistance in field sampling collection. DGS and JAB were funded by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship , jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society (Grant 102507/Z/13/Z ). DGS was funded by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship ( 217221/Z/19/Z ). CS, JAB, NF and DGS were also funded by a CONCYTEC -UK Embassy grant (No. 003-2016-FONDECYT ). AO-C was funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development of Chile (FONDECYT-Iniciación, grant number 11190602 ) and by the ANID Millennium Science Initiative/Millennium Initiative for Collaborative Research on Bacterial Resistance , MICROB-R, NCN17_081 . JAB was funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development of Chile (FONDECYT-Iniciación, grant number 11181017 ). We thank all farmers involved in this study for their cooperation and help with livestock sampling.
We thank C. Tello and Elizabeth Rojas-Paniagua for assistance in field sampling collection. DGS and JAB were funded by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society (Grant 102507/Z/13/Z). DGS was funded by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (217221/Z/19/Z). CS, JAB, NF and DGS were also funded by a CONCYTEC-UK Embassy grant (No. 003-2016-FONDECYT). AO-C was funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development of Chile (FONDECYT-Iniciaci?n, grant number 11190602) and by the ANID Millennium Science Initiative/Millennium Initiative for Collaborative Research on Bacterial Resistance, MICROB-R, NCN17_081. JAB was funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development of Chile (FONDECYT-Iniciaci?n, grant number 11181017). We thank all farmers involved in this study for their cooperation and help with livestock sampling.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus