Staphylococcus spp. in Salad Vegetables: Biodiversity, Antimicrobial Resistance, and First Identification of Methicillin-Resistant Strains in the United Arab Emirates Food Supply

• Published in: Foods 2024-08, Vol.13 (15), p.2439
• Main Authors: Habib, Ihab, Lakshmi, Glindya Bhagya, Mohamed, Mohamed-Yousif Ibrahim, Ghazawi, Akela, Khan, Mushtaq, Al-Rifai, Rami H, Abdalla, Afra, Anes, Febin, Elbediwi, Mohammed, Khalifa, Hazim O, Senok, Abiola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Biodiversity; Biological diversity; Cefoxitin; Coagulase; Contaminants; Contamination; Drug resistance; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Ecosystems; Food chains; Food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; food safety; Food supply; fresh produce; Gene sequencing; Genes; Genomes; Ionization; Lettuce; Leukocidin; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; MecA protein; Methicillin; Nosocomial infections; Oxacillin; Penicillin G; Public health; Resistance factors; Salads; Species diversity; Staphylococci; Staphylococcus; Staphylococcus infections; Supply chains; Tetracycline; Tetracyclines; Toxins; United Arab Emirates; Vegetables; Virulence; Virulence factors; Whole genome sequencing
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods13152439

Contamination of leafy greens with spp. can occur at various supply chain stages, from farm to table. This study comprehensively analyzes the species diversity, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence factors of in salad vegetables from markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 343 salad items were sampled from three major cities in the UAE from May 2022 to February 2023 and tested for the presence of spp. using standard culture-based methods. Species-level identification was achieved using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted using the VITEK-2 system with AST-P592 cards. Additionally, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of ten selected isolates was performed to characterize antimicrobial resistance determinants and toxin-related virulence factors. Nine species were identified in 37.6% (129/343) of the tested salad items, with coagulase-negative (CoNS) dominating (87.6% [113/129]) and being the most prevalent (89.4% [101/113]). was found in 4.6% (14/343) of the salad samples, averaging 1.7 log10 CFU/g. One isolate was confirmed as methicillin-resistant , harboring the gene. It belonged to multi-locus sequence type ST-672 and spa type t384 and was isolated from imported fresh dill. Among the characterized ( = 45), 13.3% tested positive in the cefoxitin screen test, and 6.6% were non-susceptible to oxacillin. WGS analysis revealed that the cytolysin gene ( ) was the only toxin-associated factor found in , while a methicillin-sensitive isolate harbored the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin ( / ) gene. This research is the first to document the presence of methicillin-resistant in the UAE food chain. Furthermore, (a coagulase-negative not commonly screened in food) has demonstrated phenotypic resistance to clinically relevant antimicrobials. This underscores the need for vigilant monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial contaminants, whether pathogenic or commensal, at the human-food interface.