Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Toxins

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 6724

Special Issue Editor

Veterinary Research Institute of Thessaloniki, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation-Demeter (NAGREF), Campus of Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: pathogenic bacteria; diagnostic methods; Biotyping of bacteria; genomic analysis; antibiotic resistance; lactic bacteria; genetic structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are assembling a Special Issue addressing the Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Toxins, covering relevant issues in the field, including the genetic characterization of the antimicrobial resistance in bacteria (multidrug resistance and toxins in food animals), risk to public health, and the development of efficient control programs to inhibit the transmission, particularly of multidrug-resistant strains, to humans (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine or small ruminant clinical mastitis cases).

We are also interested in the prevalence and genetic characterization of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in livestock animals, workers, surface water, and wastewater, as well as the identification of potential pathogenic ESBL-Enterobacteriaceae reservoirs that may pose a high risk to human health.

Additionally, anthelmintic resistance is now found in all major helminth species across Europe and globally, and coccidian resistance is established in the poultry and swine industries worldwide.

Dr. Loukia Ekateriniadou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • genetic characterization
  • risk
  • control programs
  • prevalence
  • ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae
  • anthelmintic resistance

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
Knockout of ABC Transporter ABCG4 Gene Confers Resistance to Cry1 Proteins in Ostrinia furnacalis
by Qing Gao, Yaling Lin, Xiuping Wang, Dapeng Jing, Zhenying Wang, Kanglai He, Shuxiong Bai, Yongjun Zhang and Tiantao Zhang
Toxins 2022, 14(1), 52; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins14010052 - 12 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1964
Abstract
Ostrinia furnacalis is an important borer on maize. Long-term and large-scale planting of transgenic corn has led O. furnacalis evolving resistance and reducing the control effect. Recently, high levels of resistance to Bt Cry1 toxins have been reported to be genetically linked to [...] Read more.
Ostrinia furnacalis is an important borer on maize. Long-term and large-scale planting of transgenic corn has led O. furnacalis evolving resistance and reducing the control effect. Recently, high levels of resistance to Bt Cry1 toxins have been reported to be genetically linked to the mutation or down-regulation of ABC transporter subfamily G gene ABCG4 in O. furnacalis. In order to further determine the relationship between ABCG4 gene and the resistance to Cry1 toxins in O. furnacalis, the novel CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering system was utilized to successfully construct ABCG4-KO knockout homozygous strain. Bioassay results indicated that an ABCG4-KO strain had a higher resistance to Cry1 proteins compared with a susceptible strain (ACB-BtS). The result indicates that the ABCG4 gene may act as a receptor of the Bt Cry1 toxin in O. furnacalis. Furthermore, the development time was significantly changed in the early stage ABCG4-KO larvae, and the population parameters were also significantly changed. In summary, our CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing study presents evidence that ABCG4 gene is a functional receptor for Bt Cry1 toxins, laying the foundation for further clarification of the Bt resistance mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Toxins)
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10 pages, 1453 KiB  
Article
Bisdemethoxycurcumin Reduces Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Expression of Virulence-Related Exoproteins and Inhibits the Biofilm Formation
by Shu Wang, Ok-Hwa Kang and Dong-Yeul Kwon
Toxins 2021, 13(11), 804; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13110804 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1914
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen of nosocomial infection, which is resistant to most antibiotics. Presently, anti-virulence therapy and anti-biofilm therapy are considered to be promising alternatives. In the current work, we investigated the influence of bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) on the virulence-related [...] Read more.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen of nosocomial infection, which is resistant to most antibiotics. Presently, anti-virulence therapy and anti-biofilm therapy are considered to be promising alternatives. In the current work, we investigated the influence of bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) on the virulence-related exoproteins and the biofilm formation using a reference strain and clinic isolated strains. Western blotting, quantitative RT-PCR, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) release assay were performed to assess the efficacy of BDMC in reducing the expression of Staphylococcus enterotoxin-related exoproteins (enterotoxin A, enterotoxin B) and α-toxin in MRSA. The anti-biofilm activity of BDMC was evaluated through a biofilm inhibition assay. The study suggests that sub-inhibitory concentrations of BDMC significantly inhibited the expression of sea, seb, and hla at the mRNA level in MRSA. Moreover, the expression of virulence-related exoproteins was significantly decreased by down-regulating accessory gene regulator agr, and the inhibition of biofilms formation was demonstrated by BDMC at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Consequently, the study suggests that BDMC may be a potential natural antibacterial agent to release the pressure brought by antibiotic resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Toxins)
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16 pages, 1632 KiB  
Article
Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Ruminants with Mastitis in Northern Greece Dairy Herds: Genetic Relatedness and Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization
by Charalampos Kotzamanidis, George Vafeas, Virginia Giantzi, Sofia Anastasiadou, Stavros Mygdalias, Andigoni Malousi, Ekateriniadou Loukia, Sergelidis Daniel and Antonios Zdragas
Toxins 2021, 13(3), 176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13030176 - 25 Feb 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2279
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common mastitis-related pathogen in dairy cattle, goats, and sheep worldwide. However, the population structure and genomic characteristics of mastitis-associated S. aureus in small ruminants are limited. Furthermore, the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics involved in the pathogenicity of S [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common mastitis-related pathogen in dairy cattle, goats, and sheep worldwide. However, the population structure and genomic characteristics of mastitis-associated S. aureus in small ruminants are limited. Furthermore, the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics involved in the pathogenicity of S. aureus have been thoroughly defined, yet their association with the severity of mastitis is not fully established. Here, we performed genotyping by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and spa analyses to assess the genetic diversity and relatedness of 162 S. aureus strains recovered from clinical mastitis (CM) and subclinical mastitis (SCM) cases from goats, sheep, and bovines. PFGE analysis revealed 108 distinguishable pulsotypes and 3 main clusters that comprised isolates from the three host species, while according to spa typing, 32 different spa types were identified. Genotypic analysis revealed a spreading of genetically related or indistinguishable S. aureus strains among ovine, caprine, and bovine farms of distant geographical regions. In total, 28 different staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) gene profiles were observed, revealing a diverse range of SE genes among isolates. By evaluating the antimicrobial resistance, we found low phenotypic antimicrobial resistance among all ruminant isolates. We also performed multiple correspondence analysis, which indicated that the presence of the sec gene, biofilm production, and high autoaggregation ability are associated with CM cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Toxins)
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