Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium live vaccine strain Zoosaloral H

Presence of Classical Enterotoxin Genes, agr Typing, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Genetic Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus from Milk of Cows with Mastitis in Southern Brazil

Staphylococcus aureus is a common causative agent of bovine mastitis in dairy cows and commonly associated with foodborne disease outbreaks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of enterotoxin genes, agr typing, antimicrobial resistance, and genetic diversity of S. aureus isolated from milk of cows with mastitis in dairy farms from southern Brazil. Results showed that 7 (22.6%) of 31 S. aureus isolates were positive for enterotoxin genes. Specifically, the genes encoding for enterotoxins A ( n = 4), C ( n = 2), and B ( n = 1) were detected. Isolates belonging to the agr group III (10 of 31, 32.2%) and agr group I (7 of 31, 22.5%) were the most common. To our knowledge, this is the first report of both agr I and III in the same S. aureus isolate from milk of cows with bovine mastitis. The antimicrobial resistance test showed that 54% of the isolates were multiresistant to antimicrobial agents. The macrorestriction analysis produced 16 different major SmaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, with up to two subpatterns. Moreover, the presence of some S. aureus clones in a distinct area was observed. Although this study characterized a limited number of S. aureus isolates, the presence of classical enterotoxin genes and resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents reinforces the importance of this microorganism to animal and human health. In addition, similar genetic profiles have been identified in distinct geographic areas, suggesting clonal dissemination of S. aureus in dairy herds from southern Brazil.

Enhanced vaccine antigen delivery by Salmonella using antibiotic-free operator-repressor titration-based plasmid stabilisation compared to chromosomal integration

Live attenuated bacteria provide the potential to replace traditional needle-based vaccination with an orally administered vaccine. The heterologous antigen gene is usually transformed as a multi-copy plasmid into the bacterial cell, but plasmids in live bacterial vaccine strains are often unstable, so an alternative approach is to integrate the single-copy antigen gene into the bacterial chromosome. We report a comparison between the chromosomally integrated and the plasmid-borne Bacillus anthracis protective antigen gene in live Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, using the Operator-Repressor Titration (ORT) system to ensure stable plasmid maintenance. These studies demonstrate that the stabilised plasmid approach of gene expression produced greater amounts of antigenic protein, which in turn resulted in higher antibody responses and levels of protection in mice.

Quantification and molecular characterization of Salmonella isolated from food samples involved in salmonellosis outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Data concerning the prevalence and populations of Salmonella in foods implicated in outbreaks may be important to the development of quantitative microbial risk assessments of individual food products. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to assess the amount of Salmonella sp. in different foods implicated in foodborne outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul occurred in 2005 and to characterize the isolated strains using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Nineteen food samples involved in ten foodborne outbreaks occurred in 2005, and positive on Salmonella isolation at the Central Laboratory of the Health Department of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, were included in this study. Food samples were submitted to estimation of Salmonella using the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. Moreover, one confirmed Salmonella colony of each food sample was serotyped, characterized by its XbaI-macrorestriction profile, and submitted to antimicrobial resistance testing. Foods containing eggs, mayonnaise or chicken were contaminated with Salmonella in eight outbreaks. Higher counts (>10⁷ MPN.g^-1) of Salmonella were detected mostly in foods containing mayonnaise. The isolation of Salmonella from multiple food items in five outbreaks probably resulted from the cross-contamination, and the high Salmonella counts detected in almost all analyzed samples probably resulted from storing in inadequate temperature. All strains were identified as S. Enteritidis, and presented a unique macrorestriction profile, demonstrating the predominance of one clonal group in foods involved in the salmonellosis outbreaks. A low frequency of antimicrobial resistant S. Enteritidis strains was observed and nalidixic acid was the only resistance marker detected.

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium isolated from pigs in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This study aimed to investigate the relatedness of porcine Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (S.) serovar Typhimurium strains isolated in Southern Brazil. Sixty-six isolates from pigs belonging to three commercial companies were submitted to phage typing, XbaI-macrorestriction (PFGE), IS200 hybridization, rep-PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and PCR assay targeting the spvR region. All strains presented a unique rep-PCR pattern and 63 strains had a common IS200 profile. One pulse-type (XA) was the most prevalent (39/66 strains) and included strains of phage types DT177, DT192, DT194 and RDNC. The spvR region was detected in three strains, which harboured plasmids of 90 kb. High rates of tetracycline, sulfonamide and streptomycin resistance were found. Isolates from farms located in different geographic regions but associated to the same commercial companies clustered together and presented a common resistance profile. Results suggested that clonal groups of S. Typhimurium are present in pig commercial companies in Southern Brazil.

Tracing of Salmonella spp. in two pork slaughter and cutting plants using serotyping and macrorestriction genotyping

AIMS

The origin of Salmonella contamination of pork products is not well established. In order to further this knowledge, the transmission of Salmonella spp. from live pigs to pork cuts was investigated in two pork slaughter and cutting plants.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Salmonella spp. were isolated from both pork (pigs, carcasses, cuts) and the environment before and during slaughterhouse activities. Eight serotypes were identified. XbaI and SpeI macrorestriction distinguished 20 genotypes of Salmonella Typhimurium and 16 genotypes of Salmonella Derby. A major cluster of Salmonella Typhimurium genotypes was common to both plants and all pig-related genotypes, while a predominant pig-related Salmonella Derby genotype was common to both plants.

CONCLUSION

None of the Salmonella strains persisted for long periods in the pork-processing environments.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This work shows that contaminated live pigs, because of bacterial spread due to the process and ineffective cleaning procedures, are involved in Salmonella contamination.

Some safety aspects of Salmonella vaccines for poultry: in vivo study of the genetic stability of three Salmonella typhimurium live vaccines

Live vaccine strains of Salmonella should be avirulent, immunogenic and genetically stable. Some isolates of three commercially available live vaccine strains of Salmonella typhimurium, sampled during a study on their persistence in a vaccinated flock of chickens, were analyzed for genetic stability using macrorestriction analysis of their genome. Two out of the three vaccine strains showed genetic instabilities. Two of the 51 isolates of Zoosaloral vaccine strain and nine of the 32 analyzed isolates of chi(3985), a genetically modified organism, were variants and showed different macrorestriction profiles.

Molecular analysis of tetracycline resistance in Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovars Typhimurium, enteritidis, Dublin, Choleraesuis, Hadar and Saintpaul: construction and application of specific gene probes

A total of 65 epidemiologically unrelated tetracycline-resistant isolates of the six Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (Salm.) serovars Dublin, Choleraesuis, Typhimurium, Enteritidis, Hadar and Saintpaul were investigated for the presence of tetracycline resistance genes. For this, specific gene probes of the tetracycline resistance genes (tet) of the hybridization classes A, B, C, D, E and G were constructed by cloning PCR-amplified internal segments of the respective tet structural genes. These gene probes were sequenced and used in hybridization experiments with plasmid DNA or endonuclease digested whole cell DNA as targets. Only tet(A) genes were detected on plasmids in all Salm. Dublin isolates as well as in single isolates of Salm. Choleraesuis and Salm. Typhimurium. Genes of the hybridization classes B, C, D and G, but also in some cases those of class A, were located in the chromosomal DNA of the corresponding Salmonella isolates. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of tet gene carrying fragments were detected in chromosomally tetracycline-resistant isolates. These RFLPs might represent valuable additional tools for the identification and characterization of tetracycline-resistant Salmonella isolates.

Characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Salmonella typhimurium by phenotypic and genotypic typing methods

During 1994, 10 isolates of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Salmonella typhimurium were recovered from children transferred to our hospital from two different centers. Two additional isolates were recovered from two nurses from one of these centers. The aim of this study was to determine if there is any relationship between these isolates. The characterization was done by phenotypic and genotypic methods: biotyping, phage typing, antibiotic susceptibility pattern determination, plasmid analysis, ribotyping (by the four endonucleases EcoRI, SmaI, BglII, and PvuII), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genome macrorestriction patterns with XbaI, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) pattern determination (with the three primers 217 d2, B1, and A3). The same biotype, the same serotype, and an identical antibiotype were found. All isolates were resistant to oxyimino-beta-lactams, gentamicin, tobramycin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. All isolates showed an indistinguishable pattern by ribotyping and very similar patterns by PFGE and RAPD. The overall results indicated the spread of a closely related strain of S. typhimurium in children and nurses.

Molecular subtyping of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from cases of bovine mastitis in Brazil

Sixty-six isolates of Staphylococcus aureus obtained from milk samples of dairy cows suffering from subclinical mastitis in southern Brazil were analysed by five different molecular typing methods. These included the analysis of plasmid profiles, the analysis of coagulase (coa) gene polymorphisms by PCR amplification of the 3' terminal region of the coa gene, the PCR-based detection of polymorphisms in the X region of the protein A gene (spa), the PCR-directed analysis of variations in the spacer region between 16S and 23S rRNA, and the comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoretically separated genomic SmaI fragment patterns. The molecular typing methods were supplemented with the biochemical characterization of the isolates and the determination of their in-vitro susceptibility to 14 different antibiotics. All genotypic and phenotypic typing methods were analyzed for their ability to discriminate between the isolates. Macrorestriction analysis proved to be the most discriminatory single method (D = 0.96) followed by rRNA spacer typing (D = 0.85), coa PCR (D = 0.82), and spa PCR (D = 0.80).

Molecular characterization of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT009 isolates: differentiation of the live vaccine strain Zoosaloral from field isolates

A total of 25 epidemiologically unrelated Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (S.) serovar Typhimurium DT009 isolates from various human and animal sources, the original S. Typhimurium DT009 Zoosaloral live vaccine strain and two Zoosaloral strains reisolated from vaccinated chickens were investigated by various molecular typing methods (I) to determine the most suitable method or combination of methods for the differentiation of DT009 field isolates and (II) to investigate which molecular methods are suitable to differentiate the Zoosaloral live vaccine strain from field isolates of the same phage type. Based on the results of plasmid profile analysis, IS200 typing and macrorestriction analysis with XbaI, SpeI and BlnI, the 28 S. Typhimurium DT009 isolates were assigned to 16 different genomic groups, one of which was exclusively represented by the original and the reisolated Zoosaloral strains. IS200 typing was the most discriminatory single method for the differentiation of the DT009 isolates followed by plasmid profile analysis and BlnI-macrorestriction analysis. The Zoosaloral vaccine strain differed from the DT009 field isolates by its unique HindIII-fragment pattern of the virulence plasmid and by its unique SpeI-macrorestriction pattern.

Inter- and intra-phage type differentiation of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar enteritidis isolates using molecular typing methods

Seventy-six Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) isolates which represented 14 phage types and RDNC isolates were investigated by several independent molecular methods. Eleven different plasmid profiles were detected. Plasmid-encoded virulence genes of the spv gene cluster were shown by hybridization with a spvB/C gene probe to be located on plasmids of either 55 kbp or 95 kbp. Ribotyping as performed with gene probes that recognized either the entire rrn operon or 16S rRNA genes allowed no differentiation between the S. Enteritidis isolates. Three different hybridization patterns could be observed by IS200-typing. Macrorestriction analysis of XbaI-, SpeI- and NotI-digested whole cell DNA proved to be the most discriminatory method as confirmed by the calculation of discriminatory indices. Based on the data obtained from plasmid analysis and macrorestriction analyses with three suitable restriction endonucleases, the 76 S. Enteritidis isolates were assigned to 26 different genomic groups. The observation that several genomic groups included isolates of different phage types has suggested that a combination of suitable molecular methods and phage typing is most useful for tracing S. Enteritidis isolates in epidemiological investigations.

Identification and molecular characterization of beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) of the North and Baltic Seas

The present study was designed to identify and comparatively investigate 35 beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from stranded harbor porpoises or from animals caught in fishing nets of the North and Baltic seas. According to biochemical and serological data and to lectin agglutination tests with the lectin of Arachis hypogaea, all 35 isolates could be classified in Lancefield's serological group L and could be identified as Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae. All 35 group L streptococci were uniformly sensitive to most of the antibiotics tested. To further analyze the epidemiological relationship, the isolates were subjected to macrorestriction analysis of their chromosomal DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Digestion of the chromosomal DNA with the restriction enzymes SmaI and ApaI revealed that most of the group L streptococci seemed to be apparently identical or related. These results indicate that one clone or at least related group L streptococcal clones play an important role for infections of harbor porpoises of the North and Baltic seas. This might possibly be caused by a direct transfer of the bacteria from animal to animal.

Molecular typing of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Hadar: evaluation and application of different typing methods

A highly discriminatory molecular typing system for isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (S.) serovar Hadar was developed based on the data obtained from 34 epidemiologically unrelated S. Hadar isolates from Germany and Brazil. Plasmid profile analysis and macrorestriction analysis with the enzymes XbaI, SpeI and BlnI represented the most discriminative typing methods. In contrast, ribotyping as performed with a gene probe that recognized the entire rrn operon did not reveal any differences between the S. Hadar isolates. IS200 typing was not applicable due to the lack of insertion elements of this type in all S. Hadar isolates included in this study. The combination of the results of plasmid analysis and macrorestriction analysis subdivided the 34 S. Hadar isolates into 32 different genomic groups. The high discriminatory power of these methods confirmed their suitability as effective typing methods for epidemiological studies on S. Hadar isolates. The practical application of this molecular typing system to S. Hadar isolates of the same flock obtained during a 15 month period strongly suggested recurring introduction of genomically different S. Hadar isolates instead of a single introduction of S. Hadar followed by subsequent spread within the flock.

Molecular characterization of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar choleraesuis field isolates and differentiation from homologous live vaccine strains suisaloral and SC-54

Four independent molecular methods were used to characterize the Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar choleraesuis live vaccine strains SC-54 and Suisaloral and to differentiate them from S. choleraesuis field isolates. Plasmid analysis revealed the presence of seven plasmid profiles. A virulence plasmid of 52-kbp was identified by hybridization with an spvB-spvC gene probe in each of the S. choleraesuis field isolates and in the Suisaloral vaccine strain, but not in the SC-54 vaccine strain. Ribotyping, performed with a gene probe that recognized 23S, 16S, and 5S rRNA genes, resulted in three closely related hybridization patterns. IS200 elements were not detected in the field isolates or in the two S. choleraesuis live vaccine strains. Macrorestriction analysis with the enzymes XbaI, SpeI, NotI, and SfiI differentiated the 29 S. choleraesuis strains included in this study into 10, 13, 8, and 13 different fragment patterns, respectively. While the Suisaloral vaccine strain showed a unique XbaI macrorestriction pattern, the fragment patterns of the SC-54 strain obtained with the different enzymes were shared by 2 to 18 S. choleraesuis field strains. A combination of plasmid analysis and macrorestriction analysis proved to be most suitable for the molecular typing of S. choleraesuis and the differentiation of both live vaccine strains from field isolates of this serovar.

Evaluation and comparison of molecular techniques for epidemiological typing of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar dublin

A total of 28 unrelated isolates of the Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar dublin (S. dublin) collected during a 6-year period, as well as four samples of the S. dublin live vaccine strain Bovisaloral and its prototype strain S. dublin 442/039, were investigated by different molecular typing methods for the following reasons: (i) to find the most discriminatory method for the epidemiological typing of isolates belonging to this Salmonella serovar and (ii) to evaluate these methods for their capacity to discriminate among the live vaccine strain Bovisaloral, its prototype strain S. dublin 442/039, and field isolates of the serovar dublin. Five different plasmid profiles were observed; a virulence plasmid of 76 kbp as identified by hybridization with an spvB-spvC gene probe was present in all isolates. The detection of 16S rRNA genes and that of IS200 elements proved to be unsuitable for the epidemiological typing of S. dublin; only one hybridization pattern could be observed with each of these methods. The results obtained from macrorestriction analysis strongly depended on the choice of restriction enzyme. While the enzyme NotI yielded the lowest discriminatory index among all enzymes tested, it was the only enzyme that allowed discrimination between the Bovisaloral vaccine strain and its prototype strain. In contrast to the enzymes XbaI and SpeI, which only differentiated among the S. dublin field isolates, XhoI as well as AvrII also produced restriction fragment patterns of the Bovisaloral strain and of its prototype strain that were not shared by any of the S. dublin field isolates. Macrorestriction analysis proved to be the most discriminatory method not only for the epidemiological typing of S. dublin field isolates but also for the identification of the S. dublin live vaccine strain Bovisaloral.