First report of the optrA-carrying multidrug resistance genomic island in Campylobacter jejuni isolated from pigeon meat.
Shengjun Tang, Runshi Yang, Qingping Wu, Yu Ding, Zhi Wang, Jumei Zhang, Tao Lei, Shi Wu, Feng Zhang, Weipei Zhang, Liang Xue, Youxiong Zhang, Xianhu Wei, Rui Pang, Juan Wang
Author Information
Shengjun Tang: College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Runshi Yang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Qingping Wu: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China. Electronic address: wuqp203@163.com.
Yu Ding: Department of Food Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Zhi Wang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Jumei Zhang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Tao Lei: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Shi Wu: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Feng Zhang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Weipei Zhang: College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Liang Xue: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Youxiong Zhang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Xianhu Wei: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Rui Pang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
Juan Wang: College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiology Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China. Electronic address: wangjuan@scau.edu.cn.
Campylobacter spp., such as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are important zoonotic Gram-negative pathogens that cause acute intestinal diseases in humans. The optrA gene, encoding an ATP-binding cassette F (ABC-F) protein that confers resistance to oxazolidinones and phenicols, has been found in C. coli in China. In this study, the optrA gene was first identified in C. jejuni collected from retail meat in China from 2013 to 2016. Nine strains, isolated from a pigeon meat sample, carry the optrA gene. The molecular characteristics of the optrA-positive strains were determined by whole genome sequencing. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, and single nucleotide polymorphism analyses demonstrated that the nine optrA-positive isolates were genetically homogeneous. Phylogenetic characteristics and sequence comparison revealed that optrA was located on a chromosome-borne multidrug resistance genomic island. The optrA gene along with the tet(O) gene formed two different translocatable units (TUs), thereby supporting the transmission of TU-associated resistance genes. The emergence and spread of such TUs and strains are of great concern in terms of food safety, and measures must be implemented to avoid their dissemination in other Gram-negative bacteria and food chains.
