Multi-drug resistant mesophilic aeromonads isolated from marketed scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis) harboring resistance genes

Abstract

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance properties of 32 Aeromonas strains isolated from fresh scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis (Jay)) marketed in Korea were assessed. All the Aeromonas spp., including A. salmonicida, were mesophilic and grew very well at 37°C. The isolates were tested for susceptibility to 19 antimicrobials belonging to eight antimicrobial classes. All isolates were multi-drug resistant, which means they were resistant to five or more antimicrobials. Higher resistance rates (≥ 50%) were observed for ampicillin, piperacillin, cephalothin, imipenem, meropenem, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and nalidixic acid while intermediate resistance was also determined. PCR assays revealed the presence of many antimicrobial resistance genes among the isolates in varying combinations. Among them, some isolates harbored higher numbers of resistant genes, e.g., A. veronii-V1 (aac(6’)-Ib, tetE, qnrS, IntI1), A. salmonicida–SL10 (IntI1, blaCTX, aac(3’)-Ib, aac(6’)-Ib, qnrS), A. hydrophila–H13 (IntI1, blaTEM, qnrS, aac(6’)-Ib, strA-strB). However, neither the blaSHV, blaIMP, tetB, qnrA, qnrB, and aphAI-IAB genes nor class1 integrons were detected in any of the isolates. Discrepancies between phenotypic and genetic resistance traits were observed in some isolates. With respect to outcomes, scallops are proposed as a source of multi-drug resistant Aeromonas spp. that harbor antimicrobial resistant genes.