Distribution of phylogenetic groups, adhesin genes, biofilm formation, and antimicrobial resistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalized patients in Thailand

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2020-12, Vol.8, p.e10453-e10453, Article e10453
• Main Authors: Tewawong, Nipaporn, Kowaboot, Siriporn, Pimainog, Yaowaluk, Watanagul, Naiyana, Thongmee, Thanunrat, Poovorawan, Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amoxicillin; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Bacterial infections; Biofilms; Catheters; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drug resistance; E coli; Epidemiology; Escherichia coli; Fluoroquinolones; Genes; Health aspects; Hospital patients; Infectious Diseases; Internal medicine; Laboratories; Medical research; Microbial drug resistance; Microbiology; Molecular Biology; Multidrug resistance; Patients; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Public Health; Strains (organisms); Sulbactam; Sulfamethoxazole; Trimethoprim; Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole; Urinary tract; Urinary tract infections; Urine; Urogenital system
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10453

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections and are often caused by uropathogenic (UPEC). We investigated the distribution of phylogenetic groups, adhesin genes, antimicrobial resistance, and biofilm formation in isolated from patients with UTIs. In the present study, 208 UPEC isolated from Thai patients were classified into phylogenetic groups and adhesin genes were detected using multiplex PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using agar disk diffusion. The Congo red agar method was used to determine the ability of the UPEC to form biofilm. The most prevalent UPEC strains in this study belonged to phylogenetic group B2 (58.7%), followed by group C (12.5%), group E (12.0%), and the other groups (16.8%). Among adhesin genes, the prevalence of (91.8%) was highest, followed by (79.3%), (12.0%), and (7.7%). The rates of resistance to fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and amoxicillin-clavulanate were  65%, 54.3%, and 36.5%, respectively. The presence of adhesin genes and antibiotic resistance were more frequent in groups B2 and C compared to the other groups. Of the 129 multidrug-resistant UPEC strains, 54% were biofilm producers. Our findings further indicated that biofilm production was significantly correlated with the adhesin gene ( ≤ 0.05). These findings provide molecular epidemiologic data, antibiotic resistance profiles, and the potential for biofilm formation among UPEC strains that can inform further development of the appropriate prevention and control strategies for UTIs in this region.