Salmonella enterica is one of the best adapted bacterial pathogens causing infections in a wide variety of vertebrate species. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella in different reptile species and to evaluate their serological variety and patterns of antimicrobial resistance. In total, 97 samples from 25 wild and domesticated reptile species were investigated in Lithuania. Serological variety, as well as phenotypical and genotypical resistance to antimicrobials, were investigated. Fifty isolates of Salmonella were obtained from the ninety-seven tested samples (51.5%; 95% CI 41.2–61.2). A significantly higher prevalence of Salmonella was detected in domesticated individuals (61.3%; 95% CI 50.0–71.5) compared with wild ones (18.2%; 95% CI 7.3–38.5). All isolates belonged to a single species, Salmonella enterica. Results demonstrated that reptiles carry a large variety of Salmonella serovars. Thirty-four isolates (68%) of Salmonella were resistant to at least one antimicrobial drug. The most frequent resistance of the isolates was to streptomycin (26%), cefoxitin, gentamicin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol (16%). Genes encoding resistance to tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, sulphonamides and trimethoprim were detected. No integrons that are associated with horizontal gene transfer were found. Data obtained provided knowledge about the adaptation of Salmonella in reptiles. Healthy individuals, irrespective of their origin, often carry Salmonella, including multi-resistant strains. Due to its large serological diversity, zoonotic potential and antimicrobial resistance, Salmonella in reptiles poses a risk to other animals and humans.

The aim of the study was to isolate cultivable gut microbiota from European pond turtles kept at the Lithuanian Zoo and to determine antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. The study subjects included 8 elderly turtles living at the Lithuanian Zoo for about 50 years as well as their offspring -24 young individuals (1-2 years old) that were hatched at the same zoo. Animals were not exposed by treatment with antimicrobials during the last 3 years.Gut samples were taken from the cloaca and inoculated onto universal media. Isolates then were identified using sequence analysis of 16S rRNA.The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the agar diffusion method according to Kirby-Bauer. Clinical breakpoints according to CLSI whenever possible, were used for interpretation of susceptibility. Bacterial isolates resistant to at least three antimicrobials of different classes were treated as multi-resistant.Fifty-two bacterial isolates were obtained and identified from turtle gut samples. The most prevalent genera included Aeromonas, Chryseobacterium and Citrobacter. Fifty percent of the isolates obtained from elderly turtles (CI 95% -19.01-80.99) and 54.8% (CI 95% -39.75-69.85) of the isolates from young animals were identified as multi-resistant. The most common resistance rates of the isolates from both groups of the turtles were observed toward ampicillin (86.6%), ciprofloxacin (61.5%) and gentamicin (40.4%). The lowest number of resistant isolates were detected toward combination of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (26.9%). The study revealed that European pond turtles kept in captivity are carriers of multi-resistant bacteria however, further studies need to be performed to investigate whether the resistant microorganisms are natural microbiota for this species or they were acquired in the zoo.

In Lithuania, the number of European pond turtles Emys orbicularis decreased between 1975 and 2010, but increased significantly between 2010 and 2014, when the LIFE project was implemented. During this project, an ecological network was created, habitats were restored in protected areas, and European pond turtle nesting areas were protected from predators. Very few morphometric measurements of European pond turtles are carried out in Lithuania. The purpose of this study was to perform morphometric measurements, assess migration, spread, and morphometric size variation. Morphometric measurements of juvenile European pond turtles showed that the morphometric indicators depended on the place of habitation: males from Juodabalė Zoological Reserve (Meteliai Regional Park) are smaller than females. Also, female turtles from Meteliai Regional Park are larger than both males and females from Kučiuliškė Herpetological Reserve. When comparing the morphometric indicators of males and females at ten months of age, sexual dimorphism is already observed: the shell height, the width of the head, carapace, and plastron of a females are already bigger than those of males.

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