Biofilms and efflux pump regulatory gene (mexR) in multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from migratory birds in Egypt

Vet World Vol.15 October-2022 Article-8

Research Article

Veterinary World, 15(10): 2425-2431

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2425-2431

Esraa A. Elshafiee¹, Hanan S. Khalefa², Nayera M. Al-Atfeehy³, Fatma Amer⁴, Dalia A. Hamza¹, and Zeinab S. Ahmed¹

1. Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, P.O. Box 12211, Giza, Egypt.
2. Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, P.O. Box 12211, Giza, Egypt.
3. Bacteriology Unit, Reference Laboratory for Veterinary Quality Control on Poultry Production (RLQP), Animal Health Research Institute (AHRI), Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Nadi El-Seid St., P.O. Box 246, Dokki, Giza, 12618, Egypt.
4. Biotechnology Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Animal Research Center, Nadi El-Seid St., P.O. Box 246, Dokki, Giza, 12618, Egypt.

Background and Aim: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a global threat to public health. This study aimed to determine biofilms and efflux pump regulatory gene (mexR) in MDR P. aeruginosa isolates.

Materials and Methods: A total of 42 fecal samples of aquatic migratory birds collected during hunting season in Egypt were evaluated for the detection of P. aeruginosa according to standard culture-based methods. The antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa strains was evaluated using disk diffusion methods. The biofilm formation ability of the isolates was phenotypically determined using a colorimetric microtitration plate assay. Polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed to detect biofilm genes (PelA and PslA) and mexR.

Results: In total, 19 isolates (45.2%) were recovered from the 42 fecal samples of migratory birds. All isolates were identified as MDR P. aeruginosa, and 78.9% of the strains produced biofilms at different degrees. Molecular detection of biofilm extracellular polymeric substances revealed that PelA was the most predominant gene in the biofilm-producing isolates, followed by PslA. mexR was detected in 63.2% of MDR P. aeruginosa isolates, and its prevalence was higher in non–biofilm-producing strains (75%) than in biofilm-producing strains (60%).

Conclusion: Antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from migratory birds through various mechanisms is a major public and animal health problem. It is important to consider the significance of migratory birds in disease transmission. Keywords: biofilm, Egypt, mexR, migratory birds, multidrug-resistant, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Keywords: biofilm, Egypt, mexR, migratory birds, multidrug-resistant, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

How to cite this article: Elshafiee EA, Khalefa HS, Al-Atfeehy NM, Amer F, Hamza DA, and Ahmed ZS (2022) Biofilms and efflux pump regulatory gene (mexR) in multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from migratory birds in Egypt, Veterinary World, 15(10): 2425–2431.

Received: 23-05-2022 Accepted: 17-08-2022 Published online: 19-10-2022

Corresponding author: Dalia A. Hamza E-mail: daliahamza@cu.edu.eg

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2425-2431

Copyright: Elshafiee, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.