Genomic Analysis Reveals The Genetic Determinants Associated With Antibiotic Resistance In The Zoonotic Pathogencampylobacterspp. Distributed Globally

The genusCampylobactergroups 32 Gram-negative bacteria species, several being zoonotic pathogens and a major cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide. Antibiotic resistantCampylobacteris considered by the World Health Organization as a high priority pathogen for research and development of new antibiotics. Genetic elements related to antibiotic resistance in the classicalC. coliandC. jejunispecies, which infect humans and livestock, have been analyzed in numerous studies, mainly focused on local geographical areas. However, the presence of these resistance determinants in otherCampylobacterspecies, as well as inC. jejuniandC. colistrains distributed globally, remains poorly studied. In this work, we analyzed the occurrence and distribution of antibiotic resistance factors in 237Campylobacterclosed genomes available in NCBI, obtained from isolates collected worldwide, in different dates, from distinct hosts and comprising 22Campylobacterspecies. Our data revealed 18 distinct genetic determinants, genes or point mutations in housekeeping genes, associated with resistance to antibiotics from aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones, lincosamides, macrolides, phenicols or tetracyclines classes, which are differentially distributed among theCampylobacterspecies tested, on chromosomes or plasmids. Three resistance determinants, thebla(OXA-493)andbla(OXA-576)genes, putatively related to beta-lactams resistance, as well as thelnu(AN2) gene, putatively related to lincosamides resistance, had not been reported inCampylobacter; thus, they represent novel determinants for antibiotic resistance inCampylobacterspp., which expands the insight on theCampylobacterresistome. Interestingly, we found that some of the genetic determinants associated with antibiotic resistance areCampylobacterspecies-specific; e.g., thebla(OXA-493)gene and the T86V mutation ingyrAwere found only in theC. larigroup, whereas genes associated with aminoglycosides resistance were found only inC. jejuniandC. coli. Additional analyses revealed how are distributed the resistance and multidrug resistanceCampylobactergenotypes assessed, with respect to hosts, geographical locations, and collection dates. Thus, our findings further expand the knowledge on the factors that can determine or favor the antibiotic resistance inCampylobacterspecies distributed globally, which can be useful to choose a suitable antibiotic treatment to control the zoonotic infections by these bacteria.