Mix of almond baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) and goat whey modulated intestinal microbiota, improved memory and induced anxiolytic like behavior in aged rats.

The objective was to evaluate the effects of the consumption of a mix of baru almond and goat whey on memory performance and anxiety parameters related to the intestinal health of rats treated during aging. The animals were divided into three groups and treated by gavage for 10 weeks (n = 10/each group): Control (CT) - distilled water; Baru almond (BA) - 2000 mg of baru/kg of body weight; and Baru + Whey (BW) - 2000 mg of baru + 2000 mg of goat milk whey/kg of body weight. Anxiety behavior, memory, brain fatty acid profile and fecal microbiota were measured. BA and BW realized less grooming, spent more time in the central area of the open field and the open arms, and realized more head dipping in the elevated plus maze. A higher rate of exploration of the new object in the short and long-term memory was observed in BA and BW. There was an increase in the deposition of MUFAs and PUFAs and oleic acid in the brain of BA and BW. Regarding spatial memory, BA and BW performed better, with an emphasis on BW. There was a beneficial modulation of the fecal microbiota with a reduction of the pathogenic genus Clostridia_UFC-014 in BA and BW and an increase in the abundance of metabolic pathways of interest in the brain-gut axis. Thus, consumption of the mix is efficient in beneficially altering the intestinal microbiota, improving memory and anxiolytic-like behavior in rats during aging.

CTX-M-15-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST273 associated with nasal infection in a domestic cat.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic context of expanded-spectrum ß-lactam resistance in a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain causing a hard-to-treat nasal infection in a domestic cat. METHODS: A K. pneumoniae isolate was recovered from a 4-year-old male cat hospitalised in a veterinary hospital in Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. Following phenotypic confirmation of multidrug resistance by the disk diffusion method, the genome was sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq system. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and structural features related to antimicrobial resistance were determined by downstream bioinformatics analyses. RESULTS: The strain was confirmed as sequence type 273 (ST273) K. pneumoniae harbouring a variety of genes conferring antimicrobial resistance to phenicols tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, ß-lactams, fosfomycin, sulfonamides and quinolones. Two plasmids were identified. Plasmid p114PB_I co-harboured a set of plasmid-borne resistance genes [blaCTX-M-15, blaTEM-1, qnrS1, tetD, tetR, sul2, aph(6)-Id, aph(3'') and cat2]. Notably, the multiresistance region was characterised as a chimeric plasmid structure sharing high sequence homology with several plasmids from Enterobacteriaceae. The second plasmid (p114PB_II) was characterised as a plasmid present in many genomes belonging to K. pneumoniae. CONCLUSION: The genetic context of the plasmid sequences harboured by a veterinary pathogenic K. pneumoniae isolate reveals the high complexity of horizontal gene transfer mechanisms in the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance genes. The emergence, dissemination and evolution of antimicrobial resistance must be investigated from a One Health perspective.

First report of a livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST126 harbouring the mecC variant in Brazil.

Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile and highly adaptable pathogen associated with a wide range of infectious diseases in humans and animals. In the last decades, concern has increased worldwide due to the emergence and spread of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains shortly after this drug became a therapeutic option. In this study, we report the genomic features of the first mecC-mediated, ß-lactam resistant MRSA strain associated with livestock in Brazil and in the American continent. Three clonally related phenotypic MRSA isolates originated from a dairy herd were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction as mecC-harbouring MRSA isolates. Whole-genome sequencing was performed by Illumina Miseq platform. Downstream analyses showed that the strain was identified as the sequence type 126 (ST126) and spa type t605. In silico analysis revealed a mecC homolog gene in the orfX region associated with different penicillin-binding proteins. Moreover, genes encoding for efflux pump systems (arlR, mepR, LmrS, norA and mgrA), and antibiotic inactivation enzymes (blaZ and FosB) were also detected. Virulence analyses revealed that the strain harbours genes encoding for exoenzymes (aur, splA, splB and splE), toxin (hlgA, hlgB, hlgC, lukD and lukE) and enterotoxin (sea). The epidemiologic and genomic information provided by this study will support further epidemiological and evolutionary investigations to understand the origin and dissemination of mecC-MRSA among animals and its impact on public health.

Occurrence of KPC-Producing Escherichia coli in Psittaciformes Rescued from Trafficking in Paraíba, Brazil.

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance pose a threat to public health globally. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes can disseminate among environments, animals and humans. Therefore, investigation into potential reservoirs of multidrug-resistant bacteria is of great importance to the understanding of putative transmission routes of resistant bacteria and resistance genes. This study aimed to report the occurrence of Escherichia coli harboring the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing gene (blaKPC) in Psittaciformes rescued from wildlife trafficking in Paraíba State, Brazil. Cloacal swabs were collected from thirty birds and cultured by conventional microbiology using MacConkey and serum tryptone glucose glycerol (STGG) media supplemented with selective antimicrobials. E. coli isolates (n = 43) were identified by phenotypic tests and confirmed by MALDI-TOF. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were determined by means of Kirby-Bauer test. All isolates were further screened for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production, and putative genes encoding ESBL were investigated by PCR. Additionally, blaKPC-harboring strains were genotyped by REP-PCR. A total of 43 E. coli phenotypically resistant isolates were recovered. The highest resistance rate was observed against ciprofloxacin. Among the resistance genes, only blaKPC was found in seven different birds from three species. According to the genotyping, these seven isolates belonged to four different strains. To date, this is the first report on the occurrence of KPC-E. coli in Psittaciformes rescued from trafficking in Northeastern Brazil. Due to the high clinical importance of KPC-E. coli, our findings suggest that wild animals in captivity at wildlife rescue centers can play a role as reservoirs of bacteria that are resistance to Critically Important antimicrobials in human medicine.