Dataset Information

Housefly (Musca domestica) and Blow Fly (Protophormia terraenovae) as Vectors of Bacteria Carrying Colistin Resistance Genes.

ABSTRACT: Flies have the capacity to transfer pathogens between different environments, acting as one of the most important vectors of human diseases worldwide. In this study, we trapped flies on a university campus and tested them for mobile resistance genes against colistin, a last-resort antibiotic in human medicine for treating clinical infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Quantitative PCR assays we developed showed that 34.1% of Musca domestica (86/252) and 51.1% of Protophormia terraenovae (23/45) isolates were positive for the mcr-1 gene, 1.2% of M. domestica (3/252) and 2.2% of P. terraenovae (2.2%, 1/45) isolates were positive for mcr-2, and 5.2% of M. domestica (13/252) and 44.4% of P. terraenovae (20/45) isolates were positive for mcr-3 Overall, 4.8% (9/189) of bacteria isolated from the flies were positive for the mcr-1 gene (Escherichia coli: 8.3%, 4/48; Enterobacter cloacae: 12.5%, 1/8; Providencia alcalifaciens: 11.8%, 2/17; Providencia stuartii: 4.9%, 2/41), while none were positive for mcr-2 and mcr-3 Four mcr-1-positive isolates (two P. stuartii and two P. alcalifaciens) from blow flies trapped near a dumpster had a MIC for colistin above 4 mg/ml. This study reports mcr-1 carriage in Providencia spp. and detection of mcr-2 and mcr-3 after their initial identification in Belgium and China, respectively. This study suggests that flies might contribute significantly to the dissemination of bacteria, carrying these genes into a large variety of ecological niches. Further studies are warranted to explore the roles that flies might play in the spread of colistin resistance genes.IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the most serious global threats to human health. An option for treatment of the Gram-negative ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) bacteria with multiple drug resistance was the reintroduction of the older antibiotic colistin. However, a mobile colistin resistance gene (mcr-1) has recently been found to occur widely; very recently, two other colistin resistance genes (mcr-2 and mcr-3) have been identified in Belgium and China, respectively. In this study, we report the presence of colistin resistance genes in flies. This study also reports the carriage of colistin resistance genes in the genus Providencia and detection of mcr-2 and mcr-3 after their initial identification. This study will stimulate more in-depth studies to fully elucidate the transmission mechanisms of the colistin resistance genes and their interaction.

SUBMITTER: Zhang J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5734023 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Housefly (Musca domestica) and Blow Fly (Protophormia terraenovae) as Vectors of Bacteria Carrying Colistin Resistance Genes.

Zhang Jilei J Wang Jiawei J Chen Li L Yassin Afrah Kamal AK Kelly Patrick P Butaye Patrick P Li Jing J Gong Jiansen J Cattley Russell R Qi Kezong K Wang Chengming C

Applied and environmental microbiology 20171215 1

Flies have the capacity to transfer pathogens between different environments, acting as one of the most important vectors of human diseases worldwide. In this study, we trapped flies on a university campus and tested them for mobile resistance genes against colistin, a last-resort antibiotic in human medicine for treating clinical infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Quantitative PCR assays we developed showed that 34.1% of <i>Musca domestica</i> (86/252) and 51.1% of ...[more]

PMID: 29030447

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Project description:Beneficial symbiotic bacteria have positive effects on some insects' (such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, and flies) biological activities. However, the effects of a lack of one specific symbiotic bacterium on the life activities of some insects and their natural gut microbiota composition remain unclear. Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically target and kill bacteria and have the potential to shape gut bacterial communities. In previous work, Pseudomonas aeruginosa that naturally colonized the intestines of housefly larvae was shown to be essential to protect housefly larvae from entomopathogenic fungal infections, leading us to test whether a deficiency in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in housefly larvae that was specifically caused using bacteriophages could remold the composition of the intestinal bacteria and affect the development of housefly larvae. Our research revealed that the phage, with a titer of 108 PFU/ml, can remove 90% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the gut. A single feeding of low-dose phage had no effect on the health of housefly larvae. However, the health of housefly larvae was affected by treatment with phage every 24 h. Additionally, treating housefly larvae with bacteriophages every 24 h led to bacterial composition changes in the gut. Collectively, the results revealed that deficiency in one symbiotic gut bacteria mediated by precise targeting using bacteriophages indirectly influences the intestinal microbial composition of housefly larvae and has negative effects on the development of the host insect. Our results indicated the important role of symbiotic gut bacteria in shaping the normal gut microbiota composition in insects. IMPORTANCE The well-balanced gut microbiota ensures appropriate development of the host insect, such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, and flies. Various intestinal symbiotic bacteria have different influences on the host gut community structure and thus exert different effects on host health. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand the contributions of one specific bacterial symbiont to the gut microbiota community structure and insect health. Bacteriophages that target certain bacteria are effective tools that can be used to analyze gut bacterial symbionts. However, experimental evidence for phage efficacy in regulating insect intestinal bacteria has been little reported. In this study, we used phages as precision tools to regulate a bacterial community and analyzed the influence on host health after certain bacteria were inhibited by bacteriophage. The ability of phages to target intestinal-specific bacteria in housefly larvae and reduce the levels of target bacteria makes them an effective tool for studying the function of gut bacteria.

Project description:House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the development of improved house fly baits for management of this pest species.

Dataset Information

Housefly (Musca domestica) and Blow Fly (Protophormia terraenovae) as Vectors of Bacteria Carrying Colistin Resistance Genes.

Publications

Housefly (Musca domestica) and Blow Fly (Protophormia terraenovae) as Vectors of Bacteria Carrying Colistin Resistance Genes.

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