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Zhu Z, Wu S, Chen X, Tan W, Zou G, Huang Q, Meng X, Hu DL, Li S. Heterogeneity and transmission of food safety-related enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in pig abattoirs in Hubei, China. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0191323. [PMID: 37772855 PMCID: PMC10581196 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01913-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The dissemination of Staphylococcus aureus in the pork production chain is a major food safety concern. Abattoirs can serve both as disruptor and transmitter for S. aureus. In this study, we conducted a systematic genomic epidemiology research on the prevalence, heterogeneity, and transmission of S. aureus in 3,638 samples collected from four pig abattoirs in Hubei province, China. Our findings revealed substantial heterogeneity between S. aureus recovered from samples collected at upstream (from stunning step to head-removal step) and downstream (from splitting step to chilling step) locations within the slaughter process. Overall, 966 (26.6%) samples were positive for S. aureus, with significantly higher overall prevalence for upstream samples (29.0%, 488/1,681) compared to downstream samples (24.4%, 478/1,957). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing demonstrated that the isolates from the upstream exhibited significantly higher resistance proportions to different antimicrobials than those from the downstream. Whole-genome sequencing of 126 isolates revealed that ST398 (32.9%, 23/70) and ST9 (22.9%, 16/70) were more common among upstream isolates, while ST7 (35.7%, 20/56) and ST97 (28.6%, 16/56) were most frequently observed among downstream isolates. Additionally, molecular characterization analysis demonstrated that upstream isolates possessed significantly higher enterotoxigenic potential, more antimicrobial resistance genes, and S. aureus pathogenicity islands than downstream isolates. Notably, we discovered that enterotoxigenic S. aureus could be transmitted across different slaughter stages, with knives, water, and air serving as vectors. Although slaughtering processes had a substantial effect on reducing the food safety risk posed by enterotoxigenic S. aureus, the possibility of its widespread transmission should not be disregarded. IMPORTANCE Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most important foodborne pathogens, and can cause foodborne poisoning by producing enterotoxins. Pork is a preferable reservoir and its contamination often occurs during the slaughter process. Our findings revealed significant differences in the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and enterotoxigenic potential between the upstream and downstream isolates within the slaughter process. Also, it is imperative not to overlook enterotoxigenic S. aureus transmitted across all stages of the slaughter process, with notable vectors being knives, water, and air. These findings hold significant implications for policy-makers to reassess their surveillance projects, and underscore the importance of implementing effective control measures to minimize the risk of S. aureus contamination in pork production. Moreover, we provide a more compelling method of characterizing pathogen transmission based on core-SNPs of bacterial genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Simin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xingyu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Wei Tan
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Geng Zou
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Qi Huang
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xianrong Meng
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Dong-Liang Hu
- Department of Zoonoses, Kitasato University School of Veterinary Medicine, Towada, Japan
| | - Shaowen Li
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
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Komodromos D, Kotzamanidis C, Giantzi V, Pappa S, Papa A, Zdragas A, Angelidis A, Sergelidis D. Prevalence, Infectious Characteristics and Genetic Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Two Raw-Meat Processing Establishments in Northern Greece. Pathogens 2022; 11:1370. [PMID: 36422621 PMCID: PMC9697755 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the isolation frequency, the genetic diversity, and the infectious characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from the incoming meat and the meat products, the environment, and the workers' nasal cavities, in two meat-processing establishments in northern Greece. The isolated S. aureus strains were examined for their resistance to antimicrobials, carriage of the mecA and mecC genes, carriage of genes encoding for the production of nine staphylococcal enterotoxins, carriage of the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin and Toxic Shock Syndrome genes, and the ability to form biofilm. The genetic diversity of the isolates was evaluated using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and spa typing. S. aureus was isolated from 13.8% of the 160 samples examined, while only one sample (0.6%) was contaminated by MRSA carrying the mecA gene. The evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates revealed low antimicrobial resistance. The higher resistance frequencies were observed for penicillin (68.2%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (36.4%) and tetracycline (18.2%), while 31.8% of the isolates were sensitive to all antimicrobials examined. Multidrug resistance was observed in two isolates. None of the isolates carried the mecC or lukF-PV genes, and two isolates (9.1%) harbored the tst gene. Eight isolates (36.4%) carried the seb gene, one carried the sed gene, two (9.1%) carried both the sed and sei genes, and one isolate (4.5%) carried the seb, sed and sei genes. Twenty-one (95.5%) of the isolates showed moderate biofilm production ability, while only one (4.5%) was characterized as a strong biofilm producer. Genotyping of the isolates by PFGE indicates that S. aureus from different meat-processing establishments represent separate genetic populations. Ten different spa types were identified, while no common spa type isolates were detected within the two plants. Overall, our findings emphasize the need for the strict application of good hygienic practices at the plant level to control the spread of S. aureus and MRSA to the community through the end products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios Komodromos
- Laboratory of Food Hygiene-Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Charalampos Kotzamanidis
- Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DIMITRA, Veterinary Research Institute of Thessaloniki, 57001 Thermi, Greece
| | - Virginia Giantzi
- Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DIMITRA, Veterinary Research Institute of Thessaloniki, 57001 Thermi, Greece
| | - Styliani Pappa
- Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Anna Papa
- Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Antonios Zdragas
- Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DIMITRA, Veterinary Research Institute of Thessaloniki, 57001 Thermi, Greece
| | - Apostolos Angelidis
- Laboratory of Safety and Quality of Milk and Dairy Products, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Daniel Sergelidis
- Laboratory of Food Hygiene-Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
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First Genome-Based Characterisation and Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Production Ability of Methicillin-Susceptible and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Foods in Algiers (Algeria). Toxins (Basel) 2022; 14:toxins14110731. [PMID: 36355981 PMCID: PMC9694651 DOI: 10.3390/toxins14110731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogenic microorganism of humans and animals, able to cause foodborne intoxication due to the production of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) and to resist antibiotic treatment as in the case of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). In this study, we performed a genomic characterisation of 12 genetically diverse S. aureus strains isolated from ready-to-eat foods in Algiers (Algeria). Moreover, their ability to produce some classical and new staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) was investigated. The 12 S. aureus strains resulted to belong to nine known sequence types (STs) and to the novel ST7199 and ST7200. Furthermore, S. aureus SA46 was assigned to the European clone MRSA-ST80-SCCmec-IV. The 12 strains showed a wide endowment of se and sel (staphylococcal enterotoxin-like toxin) genes (sea, seb, sed, seg, seh, sei, selj, sek, sem, sen, seo, seq, ser, selu2, selw, selx, sey, sel30; ψent1-ψent2), including variants and pseudogenes, and harboured the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) types 1 and 5. Additionally, they produced various amounts of SEA (64.54-345.02 ng/mL), SEB (2871.28-14739.17 ng/mL), SED (322.70-398.94 ng/mL), SEH (not detectable-239.48 ng/mL), and SER (36,720.10-63,176.06 ng/mL) depending on their genotypes. The genetic determinants related to their phenotypic resistance to β-lactams (blaZ, mecA), ofloxacin (gyrA-S84L), erythromycin (ermB), lincomycin (lmrS), kanamycin (aph(3')-III, ant(6)-I), and tetracyclin (tet(L), tet(38)) were also detected. A plethora of virulence-related genes, including major virulence genes such as the tst gene, determinant for the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1, and the lukF-PV and lukS-PV genes, encoding the panton-valentine leukocidin (PVL), were present in the S. aureus strains, highlighting their pathogenic potential. Furthermore, a phylogenomic reconstruction including worldwide foodborne S. aureus showed a clear clustering based on ST and geographical origin rather than the source of isolation.
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Liu C, Shen Y, Yang M, Chi K, Guo N. Hazard of Staphylococcal Enterotoxins in Food and Promising Strategies for Natural Products against Virulence. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2022; 70:2450-2465. [PMID: 35170308 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c06773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) secreted by Staphylococcus aureus frequently contaminate food and cause serious foodborne diseases but are ignored during food processing and even cold-chain storage. Notably, SEs are stable and resistant to harsh sterilization environments, which can induce more serious hazards to public health than the bacterium itself. Therefore, it is necessary to develop promising strategies to control SE contamination in food and improve food safety. Natural products not only have various pharmaceutical properties, such as antimicrobial and antitoxin activities, but they are also eco-friendly, safe, nutritive, and barely drug-resistant. Here, the hazards of SEs and the promising natural compounds with different inhibitory mechanisms are summarized and classified. The key points of future research and applications for natural products against bacterial toxin contamination in food are also prospected. Overall, this review may provide enlightening insights for screening effective natural compounds to prevent foodborne diseases caused by bacterial toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunmei Liu
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Shen
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Meng Yang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Kunmei Chi
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Na Guo
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, People's Republic of China
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Smaoui S, Ben Hlima H, Fourati M, Elhadef K, Ennouri K, Mellouli L. Multiobjective optimization of
Phoenix dactylifera
L. seeds extraction: Mixture design methodology for phytochemical contents and antibacterial activity. J FOOD PROCESS PRES 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.14822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Slim Smaoui
- Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules Center of Biotechnology of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
| | - Hajer Ben Hlima
- Algae Biotechnology Unit Biological Engineering Department National School of Engineers of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
| | - Mariam Fourati
- Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules Center of Biotechnology of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
| | - Khaoula Elhadef
- Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules Center of Biotechnology of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
| | - Karim Ennouri
- Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules Center of Biotechnology of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
| | - Lotfi Mellouli
- Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules Center of Biotechnology of Sfax University of Sfax Sfax Tunisia
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A Label-Free Fluorescent Aptasensor for Detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A Based on Aptamer-Functionalized Silver Nanoclusters. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12010152. [PMID: 31936075 PMCID: PMC7023026 DOI: 10.3390/polym12010152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) is a worldwide public health problem accounting for the majority of food poisoning which is produced by Staphylococcus aureus, threatening human health and leading to various foodborne diseases. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a sensitive detection method for SEA to ensure food safety and prevent foodborne diseases in humans. In this study, an adaptive fluorescence biosensor for the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) was designed and developed by combining DNA silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) with polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPyNPs). Fluorescent AgNCs, synthesized using aptamers as templates, were used as fluorescence probes, whose fluorescence was quenched by PPyNPs. In the presence of the target SEA, DNA-AgNCs were forced to desorb from the surface of PPyNPs through the binding of SEA with the aptamer-DNA-AgNCs, thereby resulting in fluorescence recovery. Under the optimized conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity (FI) showed a linear relationship with the SEA concentration in the range from 0.5 to 1000 ng/mL (Y = 1.4917X + 0.9100, R2 = 0.9948) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.3393 ng/mL. The sensor was successfully used to evaluate the content of SEA in milk samples, and the recovery efficiency of SEA was between 87.70% and 94.65%. Thus, the sensor shows great potential for application in food analysis. In short, the proposed platform consisted of an aptamer fluorescent sensor that can be used for the ultrasensitive detection of various toxins by taking advantage of the excellent affinity and specificity of corresponding aptamers.
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