Potential Pathogenicity of Aeromonas spp. Recovered in River Water, Soil, and Vegetation from a Natural Recreational Area

Autor segons l'article: Guerra, Roberto M; Damian Maleno, Francisco; Jose Figueras, Maria; Pujol-Bajador, Isabel; Fernandez-Bravo, Ana

Departament: Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques

Autor/s de la URV: Fernández Bravo, Ana / Figueras Salvat, María Josefa / Pujol Bajador, Isabel

Paraules clau: Aeromonas; Antibiotic-resistance; Antimicrobial susceptibility; Environmental sources; Genes; Genus aeromonas; Iii secretion system; Lateral flagella; Macrophages; Pathogenicity; Phenotypic identification; River water; Strains; Virulence factors

Resum: The genus Aeromonas is widely distributed in aquatic environments and is recognized as a potential human pathogen. Some Aeromonas species are able to cause a wide spectrum of diseases, mainly gastroenteritis, skin and soft-tissue infections, bacteremia, and sepsis. Currently, untreated river water is used for irrigation and recreational purposes. In this study, the Aeromonas spp. present in a river recreational environment was investigated by quantifying its presence in water, soil, and vegetation using three techniques: qPCR, plate counting in selective ADA medium, and Most Probable Number, in parallel. The presence of clones in the three types of samples was elucidated through genotyping with the ERIC-PCR technique, whereas the identification of the isolated Aeromonas was carried out by sequencing the rpoD gene. Finally, the pathogenic potential of some of the strains was explored by studying the presence and expression of virulence genes characteristic of the genus, their antimicrobial susceptibility profile, as well as the quantification of their cell damage and intracellular survival in an in vitro macrophages infection model. The results showed the presence of Aeromonas in all samples with the three quantification methods, with Aeromonas popoffii being the most prevalent species. The presence of strains with the same genotype (ERIC-PCR) was also confirmed in different samples. Some of the strains showed a high level of cell damage and intracellular bacterial survival, as well as the presence of various virulence factors. Furthermore, these strains showed resistance to some of the antibiotics tested and used therapeutically in both humans and animals. These results indicate that the presence of Aeromonas in this environment may represent a biosanitary risk that could be a public health problem.

Àrees temàtiques: Farmacia; General immunology and microbiology; Immunology and allergy; Immunology and microbiology (all); Immunology and microbiology (miscellaneous); Infectious diseases; Microbiology; Microbiology (medical); Molecular biology

Accès a la llicència d'ús: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Adreça de correu electrònic de l'autor: mariajose.figueras@urv.cat; isabel.pujol@urv.cat; ana.fernandez@urv.cat

Data d'alta del registre: 2025-02-18

Versió de l'article dipositat: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Enllaç font original: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/11/1382

Referència a l'article segons font original: Pathogens. 11 (11): 1382-

Referència de l'ítem segons les normes APA: Guerra, Roberto M; Damian Maleno, Francisco; Jose Figueras, Maria; Pujol-Bajador, Isabel; Fernandez-Bravo, Ana (2022). Potential Pathogenicity of Aeromonas spp. Recovered in River Water, Soil, and Vegetation from a Natural Recreational Area. Pathogens, 11(11), 1382-. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111382

URL Document de llicència: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/

DOI de l'article: 10.3390/pathogens11111382

Entitat: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Any de publicació de la revista: 2022

Tipus de publicació: Journal Publications