Abstract

ABSTRACTHouse mice (Mus musculus) thrive in large urban centers worldwide. Nonetheless, little is known about the role that they may play in contributing to environmental contamination with potentially pathogenic bacteria. Here, we describe the fecal microbiome of house mice with emphasis on detection of pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes by molecular methods. Four hundred sixteen mice were collected from predominantly residential buildings in seven sites across New York City over a period of 13 months. 16S rRNA sequencing identified Bacteroidetes as dominant and revealed high levels of Proteobacteria. A targeted PCR screen of 11 bacteria, as indicated by 16S rRNA analyses, found that mice are carriers of several gastrointestinal disease-causing agents, including Shigella, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile, and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. Furthermore, genes mediating antimicrobial resistance to fluoroquinolones (qnrB) and β-lactam drugs (blaSHV and blaACT/MIR) were widely distributed. Culture and molecular strain typing of C. difficile revealed that mice harbor ribotypes associated with human disease, and screening of kidney samples demonstrated genetic evidence of pathogenic Leptospira species. In concert, these findings support the need for further research into the role of house mice as potential reservoirs for human pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in the built environment.

Highlights

  • House mice (Mus musculus) thrive in large urban centers worldwide

  • The population of mice used in this study was used in a parallel study that examined the virome of house mice in New York City (NYC) (Fig. 1) [19]

  • Weight and length were not associated with an increased coinfection burden, but we found that male mice carried more Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes than female mice (1.87-fold; 95% CI, 1.28, 2.73; P ϭ 0.001) regardless of site, weight, or length

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Summary

Introduction

House mice (Mus musculus) thrive in large urban centers worldwide. little is known about the role that they may play in contributing to environmental contamination with potentially pathogenic bacteria. A targeted PCR screen of 11 bacteria, as indicated by 16S rRNA analyses, found that mice are carriers of several gastrointestinal disease-causing agents, including Shigella, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile, and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. Culture and molecular strain typing of C. difficile revealed that mice harbor ribotypes associated with human disease, and screening of kidney samples demonstrated genetic evidence of pathogenic Leptospira species. In concert, these findings support the need for further research into the role of house mice as potential reservoirs for human pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in the built environment. We surveyed mice from seven sites across New York City and found multiple pathogenic bacteria associated with febrile and gastrointestinal disease as well as an array of antimicrobial resistance genes.

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