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The green iguana appears to be a carrier for bacteria causing gastrointestinal infections in humans. The presence of diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) pathotypes, however, has not been studied in this reptile. The aim of the current work was to investigate the prevalence of DEC in the intestines of 240 captive green iguanas, their phylogenetic groups, and the antibiotic susceptibility profile. E. coli strains were isolated from 41.7% (N = 100/240) of the intestinal content of green iguanas. DEC strains was identified in 25.9% of the screened population and were detected in the majority (62%, p = 0.009) of those reptiles carrying E. coli strains. Among DEC strains, STEC strains carrying the stx1 gene were the most prevalent pathotype isolated (38.7%), followed by EAEC and ETEC (27.4% each). Genetic markers of DEC strains belonging to the EHEC pathotype were not detected. More than a half of DEC strains were classified into the Clade I-II phylogroup (64.5%), followed by the phylogroup A (14.5%). The antibiotic susceptibility method demonstrated that a high proportion of DEC strains were resistance, or non-susceptible, to carbenicillin, amikacin, and ampicillin. We conclude that the green iguana kept in captivity is a carrier of DEC strains bearing resistance to first-line antibiotics, including penicillins. Given the increase presence of the green iguana in Latin American households, these reptiles represent a potential source of transmission to susceptible humans and therefore a potential source of gastrointestinal disease.

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Wildlife in Latin America is subject to enormous pressures and, as in most countries, has been negatively impacted in Mexico. In 1997, the Mexican government implemented a policy of conservation and sustainable use of wildlife units (called UMAs, by their Spanish acronym) that comprises intensive and free-living management. Since then, no national or regional assessments have been conducted to estimate impacts and benefits even with 5529 registered UMAs now covering almost 20% of the national territory. The objective of this study was to characterize the SUMA (UMAs System) in a regional context in three states of southeastern Mexico. The impact of UMAs was studied in depth through a selection of representative case studies: three species of mangrove (Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa and Rhizophora mangle), ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata), red cedar (Cedrela odorata) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and a connectivity analysis, in order to evaluate the contribution of the UMAs to the conservation of species and ecosystems. The number of active UMAs at regional scale was 834, managing 273 species; 7.1% of the UMAs manage nationally-prioritized species, while 8.3% and 94.3% manage endemic and native species, respectively. Conservation of ecosystems has been successfully achieved through the UMAs that manage mangrove and white-tailed deer. We propose to promote the establishment of free-living UMAs that would contribute to increase the conservation areas. Finally, we highlight the relevance of regional-scale spatial analysis as an important tool for improving environmental policy and conservation strategies.

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