Genetic Diversity, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Virulence Genes of Isolates from Clinical Patients, Tap Water Systems, and Food / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

ABSTRACT

Objective@#This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from clinical patients, tap water systems, and food.@*Methods@#Ninety isolates were obtained from Ma'anshan, Anhui province, China, and subjected to multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) with six housekeeping genes. Their taxonomy was investigated using concatenated sequences, while their resistance to 12 antibiotics was evaluated. Ten putative virulence factors and several resistance genes were identified by PCR and sequencing.@*Results@#The 90 isolates were divided into 84 sequence types, 80 of which were novel, indicating high genetic diversity. The isolates were classified into eight different species. PCR assays identified virulence genes in the isolates, with the enterotoxin and hemolysin genes , , , and found in 47 (52.2%), 13 (14.4%), 22 (24.4%), and 12 (13.3%) of the isolates, respectively. The majority of the isolates (≥ 90%) were susceptible to aztreonam, imipenem, cefepime, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. However, several resistance genes were detected in the isolates, as well as a new variant.@*Conclusions@#Sequence type, virulence properties, and antibiotic resistance vary in isolates from clinical patients, tap water systems, and food.