Molecular epidemiological survey on quinolone resistance genotype and phenotype of Escherichia coli in septicemic broilers in Hebei, China

Abstract

In this study, the quinolone-resistant determining region (QRDR) of gyrA of Escherichia coli and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes, qnr(qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS), and aac(6 ')-Ib-cr were detected, sequenced, and analyzed. In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility tests (using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method) were performed for all 111 E. coli isolates from septicemic broilers in Hebei, China. The results show that the resistance rates were as follows: ofloxacin 99.10%, ciprofloxacin 93.69%, levofloxacin 91.89%, norfloxacin 90.09%, and gatifloxacin 76.58%. Of the PMQR genes examined, aac(6 ')-Ib-cr (36.04%) was the most frequently identified gene in all isolates, followed by qnrS (8.11%), qnrB (0.90%), and qnrA (0%). Of the QRDR examined in the 40 phenotypic quinolone-resistant isolates, compared with the gyrA(+) gene of E. coli K-12, 4 amino acid exchanges were found, namely Ser-83→Asp, Asp-87→Asn, Asp-87→Tyr, and Asp-87→Ala, and all 40 isolates had 1 or 2 exchanges in QRDR. It was concluded that quinolone-resistance in E. coli remains a serious problem in Hebei, China. Therefore, there is considerable local surveillance of quinolone resistance. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance of the qnr type remains rare in Hebei, China, and mutation in QRDR may be the main problem.