Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the potential pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance of 31 environmental Vibrio isolates obtained from surface water in southern and eastern Slovakia. Isolates were identified as Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139 and Vibrio metschnikovii by biochemical tests, MALDI biotyping, and 16S RNA gene sequencing. Analysis of the susceptibility to 13 antibacterial agents showed susceptibility of all isolates to ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, imipenem, tetracyclin, and doxycycline. We recorded high rates of resistance to β-lactams and streptomycin. Investigation of antibiotic resistance showed five different antibiotic profiles with resistance to antibacterials from three classes, but no multidrug resistance was observed. The investigation of the pathogenic potential of V. cholerae isolates showed that neither the cholera toxin coding gene ctxA nor the genes zot (zonula occludens toxin), ace (accessory cholera toxin), and tcpA (toxin-coregulated pilus) were present in any of 31 isolated samples. Gene ompU (outer membrane protein) was confirmed in 80% and central regulatory protein-coding gene toxR in 71% of V. cholerae isolates, respectively. A high prevalence of the hemolysin coding gene hlyA in all V. cholerae was observed. The data point toward the importance of systematic monitoring and comparative studies of potentially pathogenic vibrios in European countries.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Kovac (National Institutes of Health, Maryland) for providing the strain V. cholerae O139 CIRS 245. We also thank Dr. Slavomír Bystrický for valuable suggestions to improve the paper.
Funding
This study was funded by Centre of Excellence for Glycomics, supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the ERDF (ITMS 26240120031) and by the grant VEGA (2/0093/17) supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
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Valáriková, J., Korcová, J., Ziburová, J. et al. Potential pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance of aquatic Vibrio isolates from freshwater in Slovakia. Folia Microbiol 65, 545–555 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-019-00760-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-019-00760-w