Identification, Characterization, and Virulence Gene Expression of Marine Enterobacteria in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Abstract

Enterobacteria that commonly inhabit marine environments have a great impact on human health. In this study, enterobacteria isolated from seawater in the Upper Gulf of Thailand were identified and characterized. Seawater from nine sampling sites along the Upper Gulf of Thailand contained presumptive enterobacteria that ranged from 0.22 ± 0.44 to 17.00 ± 3.97 CFU/mL. The 101 strains belonged to seven species in which Klebsiella pneumoniae was the majority (47.5% of strains). The highest prevalence was resistant to ampicillin (76.2%) and ticarcillin (72.3%), respectively, whereas none was resistant to imipenem. Forty-five antibiotic resistance patterns were observed and 33.7% exhibited multidrug resistance, emphasizing the concern about public health. Three β-lactamase genes, including ampC, blaSHV, and blaTEM, were detected at the frequencies of 47.5%, 21.8%, and 11.9%, respectively. Six virulence genes, including csgD, uge, kfu, eaeA, magA, and LTI, were detected at the frequencies of 37.6%, 31.7%, 19.8%, 16.8%, 12.9%, and 5.9%, respectively. The condition of 4% NaCl downregulated the expression of the kfu and uge genes. The 67.3% and 63.4% of strains synthesized silver nanoparticles ranging between 3.04 ± 0.64 and 20.64 ± 0.95 μg/mL and gold nanoparticles ranging between 7.77 ± 0.45 and 57.57 ± 8.00 μg/mL, respectively.