Resistance gene patterns of tetracycline resistant Escherichia coli of human and porcine origin.

Resistance transfer from animals to humans (and vice versa) is a frequently discussed topic in human and veterinary medicine, albeit relevant studies focus mainly on phenotypic antibiotic resistance. In order to get a comparative insight regarding the distribution of selected resistance genes [tet(A/B/C/D/M/K/L/O/S/W/Z), sulI, II, III, str(A/B), aad(A)] in Escherichia coli of different origins, phenotypically tetracycline resistant isolates of porcine and human origin (n=137 and 152) were investigated using PCR. The most common gene was tet(A) in porcine, but tet(B) in human isolates (>55%). Tet(C/M/D) were rare (1-7%); tet(K/L/O/S/W/Z) were not detected. Co-occurrence of tet(A) and tet(B) was more frequent in human strains (11% vs. 2%). 88% of the porcine isolates had one, and 9% had two tet-genes. By contrast, only 69% of the human strains had one tet-gene, whereas 17% were carriers of two tet-determinants. The most common sulfonamide resistance gene was represented by sulII (40% in porcine, 62% in human isolates), followed by sulI. SulIII was present in eight isolates. Streptomycin resistance was mostly mediated by str(A)/str(B) in porcine, and by str(A)/str(B)/aad(A) in human strains (35% each). In one E. coli of human origin, 7 resistance genes were simultaneously detected. Co-occurrence of 5 or 6 resistance genes was more present in human strains, whereas porcine isolates carried more often only 1-4 genes. The huge diversities between gene patterns of bacteria of human and porcine origin indicate that genetic transfers between microorganisms from different sources are less frequent than transfers within populations of the same source. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.