Antibiotic resistance in vancomycin‐resistant lactic acid bacteria (VRLAB) isolated from foods of animal origin

Abstract

In this study, antibiotic resistance in 47 vancomycin-resistant lactic acid bacteria (VRLAB), isolated from 340 foods of animal origin obtained in Turkey, were investigated. VRLAB isolates were molecularly identified as Enterococcus gallinarum (44.68%), Pediococcus pentosaceus (25.53%), P. acidilactici (12.77%), E. casseliflavus (6.38%), E. casseliflavus/E. gallinarum (4.26%), Weissella cibaria (2.13%), W. confusa (2.13%), and W. minor (2.13%). The disk diffusion test results showed that 57.45%, 53.19%, 44.68%, and 44.68% of VRLAB were resistant to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, teicoplanin, and vancomycin, respectively. It was found that all the Pediococcus and Weissella isolates and 53.85% of the Enterococcus isolates had multiple antibiotic resistance. Various transferable antibiotic resistance genes were found in the VRLAB using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The most common antibiotic resistance genes in the VRLAB isolates were vanC1 (46.81%), tetM (23.4%), and ermB (19.15%). Practical applications Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a key role in food fermentations. However, antibiotic resistance in LAB is a concern because these bacteria can, potentially, be a reservoir that facilitates the spread of antibiotic resistance genes to pathogenic bacteria. Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that is used as a last resort in the cure of multidrug-resistant enterococci. In this study, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Pediococcus, and Weissella strains were isolated from foods of animal origin. Several transferable antibiotic resistance genes were detected in these isolates. The results of this study indicated that VRLAB strains isolated from foods of animal origin may be the reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes. Our findings suggest that antibiotic resistance profiles and resistance genes, in addition to industrial characteristics, should be investigated when selecting LAB from foods of animal origin to be used as starter cultures.