Abstract
Because damselflies are ubiquitously but focally present in natural environments and play a critical role as predators of other insect species, the fecal matter of damselflies may be useful for investigating antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations, including human pathogens, in local environments. We therefore examined the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including Enterobacterales, in fecal material from 383 damselflies (adults and larvae) collected from seven locations around Sapporo City, Japan, in 2016 and 2017. Fecal samples were plated on soybean casein digest (SCD) agar plates with and without antibiotics (SCD-A and SCD-w/o, respectively) to identify environmental bacteria and gut bacteria, respectively, and on MacConkey agar plates with antibiotics (MacConkey-A) to select for Gram-negative bacteria, including human pathogenic Enterobacterales species. The prevalence of colonies on each of the plates was compared, and representative colonies on MacConkey-A plates were identified to the species level using an API 20E kit and the MALDI Biotyper system. Overall, SCD-w/o plates showed a gut bacterial load of approximately 108 colony-forming units per adult damselfly or larva. There was a significant difference between the prevalence of colonies on the SCD-A and MacConkey-A plates, and a significantly increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on MacConkey-A plates was observed in samples collected from Shinoroshinkawa. Cluster analysis based on minimum inhibitory concentration values of 59 representative isolates from MacConkey-A agar plates revealed that samples from Shinoroshinkawa contained a higher prevalence of Enterobacterales than those from other sampling locations. Thus, fecal materials discharged by adult damselflies could be used in future studies as a simple tool for estimating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including Enterobacterales species, in the local environment.
Highlights
The pandemic of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and their continuing spread is a growing global concern that represents an immeasurable threat to hospitals and other healthcare-associated facilities (Magiorakos et al, 2012; Hawkey, 2015; Medina & Pieper, 2016)
It is that appropriate monitoring the emergence of MDR bacteria in particular into natural environments would be critically important for understanding spread of the bacteria, responsible for these control in public health
As expected, the population density of adult damselflies changed depending on the sampling location, indicating that damselflies ubiquitously but focally inhabit each of the local environments around Sapporo City
Summary
The pandemic of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and their continuing spread is a growing global concern that represents an immeasurable threat to hospitals and other healthcare-associated facilities (Magiorakos et al, 2012; Hawkey, 2015; Medina & Pieper, 2016). The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were more than two million cases of infection caused by MDR bacteria in the United States, resulting in approximately 23,000 deaths (CDC, 2012; Johnson et al, 2014). The lack of a comprehensive management protocol encompassing livestock, circulating food, public hygiene practices, and monitoring of natural environments has resulted in the failure to control the emergence of MDR bacteria (World Health Organization, 2007; CDC, 2012; Magiorakos et al, 2012; Calistri et al, 2013; De Beer et al, 2014; Johnson et al, 2014; Hawkey, 2015; Medina & Pieper, 2016). It is that appropriate monitoring the emergence of MDR bacteria in particular into natural environments would be critically important for understanding spread of the bacteria, responsible for these control in public health
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
