Sequence Analysis, Antibiogram Profile, Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance Genes of XDR and MDR Gallibacterium anatis Isolated from Layer Chickens in Egypt

Abelazeem M Algammal; Marwa E Abo Hashem; Khyreyah J Alfifi; Amenah S Al-Otaibi; Marfat Alatawy; Reham M ElTarabili; Wafaa A Abd El-Ghany; Helal F Hetta; Ahmed M Hamouda; Amira A Elewa; Marwa M Azab

doi:10.2147/IDR.S377797

Sequence Analysis, Antibiogram Profile, Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance Genes of XDR and MDR Gallibacterium anatis Isolated from Layer Chickens in Egypt

Infect Drug Resist. 2022 Aug 9:15:4321-4334. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S377797. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bacteriology, Immunology, and Mycology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
² Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Tabuk University, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
³ Poultry Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
⁵ Animal Health Research Institute, Zagazig Branch, Zagazig, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Gallibacterium anatis is incriminated frequently in severe economic losses and mortalities in the poultry industry. This study aimed to detect the prevalence of G. anatis in layer chickens, sequence analysis, the antibiogram profiles, and PCR screening of virulence determinants and antibiotic resistance genes.

Methods: Accordingly, 300 samples (tracheal swabs, ovary and oviduct, and lung) were randomly collected from 100 diseased layer chickens from private commercial layer farms at Elsharkia Governorate, Egypt. The bacteriological examination was carried out. The retrieved isolates were tested for 16S rRNA-23S rRNA gene sequencing, antibiogram profiling, PCR screening of virulence (gtxA, fifA, and gyrB), and antibiotic resistance genes (bla _ROB, aphA1, tetB, and tetH).

Results: The prevalence of G. anatis was 25% in the examined diseased layer chickens. The sequence analyses emphasized that the tested strains derived from a common ancestor and exhibited a notable genetic similarity with other G. anatis strains from USA, China, and Denmark. The isolated G. anatis strains were highly resistant to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, oxytetracycline, penicillin, ampicillin, kanamycin, neomycin, and erythromycin. The PCR revealed that the retrieved G. anatis strains carried gtxA, gyrB, and fifA virulence genes with a prevalence of 100%, 100%, and 38.3%, respectively. Approximately 30.1% of the retrieved G. anatis isolates were XDR to six antimicrobial classes and harbored bla _ROB, aphA1, and tetB resistance genes. Moreover, 20.5% of the isolated G. anatis strains were MDR to three different classes and carried bla _ROB and tetH resistance genes.

Conclusion: Briefly, this study emphasized the existence of XDR and MDR G. anatis strains in poultry. Florfenicol and norfloxacin displayed a promising antimicrobial effect against the emerging XDR and MDR G. anatis in poultry. The emergence of XDR and MDR G. anatis is considered a public health alarm.

Keywords: G. anatis; XDR; antibiogram; antibiotic resistance genes; poultry; sequence analyses; virulence genes.