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Dubecz, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Dubecz, A..

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A One Health approach metagenomic study on the antimicrobial resistance traits of canine saliva

According to the One Health concept, physical proximity among pets and their owners facilitates the spread of various bacteria. Interspecies bacterial transfer media include canine saliva that can be transmitted by licking and biting. Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) are the natural constituents of the bacterial genome. However, human activity can increase the prominence of ARGs. To assess factors that may affect the resistome of the canine oral cavity, the shotgun metagenomic sequencing dataset of 1830 canine saliva samples was bioinformatically analyzed and supplemented with survey results of the physical and behavioral traits of the dogs. Bacteriome and resistome associated with the canine saliva samples were described throughout the analysis. Moreover, the subset of higher public health ARGs and ESKAPE pathogen-related (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) higher public health ARGs were also collected. Further on, the set and subsets of ARGs were studied considering the surveyed traits of the sampled dogs. Overall, 318 ARG types reached sufficiently high detection rates. These ARGs can affect 31 antibiotic drug classes by various resistance mechanisms. ARGs against tetracyclines and cephalosporins appeared in the highest number of samples. However, surprisingly, another CIA group, peptides were represented by ARGs in the third-highest number of samples. Considering further ARG appearance rates in the samples, Critically Important Antimicrobials (CIAs, WHO), such as aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, or macrolides, were among the most frequently affected drug classes by higher public health risk ARGs and ESKAPE pathogen related higher public health risk ARGs. Bacteria in the saliva of white and diluted (merle, gray) color dogs and dogs characterized with decreased activity and decreased aggression more often harbored ARGs. Reduced playfulness could have been specifically associated with higher public health risk ARG presence. Even though the oral microbiome of the owners is unknown, One Health and public health implications of the close human-pet bonds and factors potentially underlying the rise in salivary ARG numbers should be considered, mostly in the light of the presence of ARGs affecting critically important drugs for human medicine.

genomics↗

Canine saliva is a source of interspecies antimicrobial resistance gene transfer

While the One Health issues of intensive animal farming are commonly discussed, keeping companion animals is less associated with the interspecies headway of antimicrobial resistance. With the constant advance of veterinary standards, antibiotics are regularly applied in companion animal medicine. Due to the close coexsistance of dogs and humans, dog bites and other casual encounters with dog saliva (e.g. licking the owner) are common. According to our metagenome studies based on 26 new generation sequencing canine saliva datasets from 2020 and 2021 reposited in NCBI SRA by The 10,000 Dog Genome Consortium and the Broad Institute within Darwins Ark project, canine saliva is rich in bacteria with predictably transferable antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). In the genom of potentially pathogenic Bacteroides, Capnocytophaga, Corynebacterium, Fusobacterium, Pasteurella, Porphyromonas, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species, that are some of the most relevant bacteria in dog bite infections, ARGs against aminoglycosides, carbapenems, cephalosporins, glycylcyclines, lincosamides, macrolides, oxazolidinone, penams, phenicols, pleuromutilins, streptogramins, sulfonamides and tetracyclines could be identfied. Several ARGs, including ones against amoxicillin-clavulanate, the most commonly applied antibiotic by dog bites, was predicted to be potentially transferable based on their association with mobile genetic elements (e.g. plasmids, phages, integrated mobile genetic elements). According to our findings canine saliva may be a source of transfer of ARG-rich bacteria, that can either colonize the human body or transport ARGs to the host bacteriota and thus can be considered as a risk in the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

genomics↗

A glimpse of antimicrobial resistance gene diversity in kefir and yoghurt

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat gaining more and more practical significance every year. The protection of bacteria against antimicrobials based on antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) developed in evolution. One of the essential clinical questions is the origin of ARGs of pathogen bacteria. Since the bacteria can share genetic components by horizontal gene transfer (HGT), all even non-pathogen bacteria may provide ARG to any pathogens when they became close physically. The bacteria of the human gut may make contact with bacteria entered into the body by food. The fermented food contains bacteria in high amount by its nature. Here we studied the diversity of ARG content by a unified metagenomic approach in various kefir and yoghurt products, in grain and isolated bacterial strains. We found numerous ARGs of commonly used fermenting bacteria with diversity characteristics in kefir and yoghurt samples. Even with the strictest filter restrictions we identified ARGs undermining the efficacy of aminocoumarin, aminoglycoside, carbapenem, cephalosporin, cephamycin, diaminopyrimidine, elfamycin, fluoroquinolone, fosfomycin, glycylcycline, lincosamides, macrolide, monobactam, nitrofuran, nitroimidazole, penam, penem, peptide, phenicol, rifamycin, tetracycline and triclosan. In the case of gene lmrD, we detected genetic environment providing mobility of this ARG. Our findings support that theory during the fermentation process the food ARG content can grow by the bacteria multiplication. Results presented suggest that starting culture strains of fermented food should be monitored and selected to decrease the ARG amount intake by nutrition.

genomics↗