Bioserotypes, virulence genes, antimicrobial susceptibility and genomic diversity of Yersinia enterocolitica isolates from Argentina and Chile

Abstract

Yersinia enterocolitica is associated with human clinical manifestations. In this study, the bioserotype distribution, virulence potential, the antimicrobial susceptibility, and the genomic diversity of Y. enterocolitica isolates recovered from Argentina and Chile were assessed. Eight Chilean and 22 Argentine isolates recovered from human (7) and animal feces (3), foods (18) and wastewater (2) were analyzed. They belonged to the bioserotypes B2 O:9 (9), B1A O:5 (8), B1A O:41,42‐41,43 (8), B4 O:3 (3) and B1A O:7,8‐8‐8,19 (2). Autoagglutination (AA), Ca2+‐dependent growth at 37°C and yadA, inv and yst genes were observed in B2 O:9 and B4 O:3 strains. B1A strains exhibited the genotype yadA‐ inv‐ yst+. All strains were resistant to ampicillin, rifampicin and erythromycin. By XbaI‐PFGE, 11 genomic types (GTs) were demonstrated (D.I. 0.90). The characteristics of these Y. enterocolitica isolates highlight the importance to maintain active surveillance of this enteropathogen in both countries. Practical applications The trade exchange among Chile and Argentina includes 12–19% of agricultural goods and foodstuffs with fresh and processed vegetables, seafoods and meat products as the major commodities. Additionally, travel and tourism have increased in recent years with more than 2.5 million passengers moving from Argentina to Chile in 2017. In this context, the control of foodborne pathogens and diseases represents a challenge for both countries. The analysis of bioserotypes, virulence potential, antimicrobial susceptibility, and clonal relatedness of Argentine and Chilean Y. enterocolitica isolates encourages further studies to contribute to the knowledge of the epidemiology of this enteropathogen and the implementation of adequate sanitary measures to prevent Y. enterocolitica illness in both countries.

Virulence Characteristics of Yersinia enterocolitica Isolated from Dairy Products in the Northeast of Iran

“…As a result, six virulence genes were selected considering their key role in the pathogenesis of Y. enterocolitica. To date, several studies have been focused on the presence of these genes in Y. enterocolitica [1,2,5,7].…”

“…Yersinia enterocolitica (Y. enterocolitica) has a wide range of clinical, animal, food, and water sources, which have been documented in the literature [1][2][3]. In general, the genus Yersinia consists of 18 species, 11 of which have been established, including Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, Y. frederiksenii, Y. intermedia, Y. kristensenii, Y. bercovieri, Y. mollaretii, Y. rohdei, Y. aldovae, and Y. ruckeri.…”

“…According to a recent report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Y. enterocolitica is considered to be an important foodborne pathogen in Europe [4]. Y. enterocolitica causes various human infections, including acute gastroenteritis and invasive syndromes such as mesenteric lymphadenitis, appendicitis, and septicemia Biotype 1A of the Y. enterocolitica strains lack pYV, most of the chromosomal virulence genes (e.g., ail, myfA, ystA), and high pathogenicity island (HPI) [1][2][3]. Due to the lack of virulence genes, biotype 1A is often isolated from humans with gastrointestinal diseases [3].…”

“…The chromosomal virulence markers of Y. enterocolitica include ail (attachment-invasion locus [ail] protein), inv (invasin), yst (Yersinia-stable toxin), myfA (mucoid Yersinia factor), ymoA (Yersinia modulator). The plasmidial virulence markers of Y. enterocolitica include yadA (Yersinia adhesion), yop virulon (Yersinia outer membrane proteins), and virF (transcriptional activator of the Yersinia virulence regulon) [1,2,5,10]. The expression of several plasmid-encoded and chromosomal virulence genes is strongly regulated by temperature, calcium, iron ion concentrations, pH, and osmolality, which play a key role in the incidence of infections [9,10].…”

“…Adhesion and invasion factors are essential to the pathogenesis of bacteria. For the penetration of bacteria into the intestinal mucosa, three proteins absorb the process and bind to epithelial cells, including inv, yadA, and ail proteins [2,5]. Inv (invasin) is primarily involved in bacterial growth in epithelial cells.…”