Isolation and whole-genome sequencing analysis of Escherichia fergusonii harboring a heat-labile enterotoxin gene from retail chicken meat in Okinawa, Japan

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the prevalence of heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) gene-positive Escherichia fergusonii in retail chicken meat and genetically characterize these strains. E. fergusonii harboring LT gene was isolated from 6 out of 60 (10%) retail chicken samples in Okinawa, Japan. Whole-genome sequencing analysis revealed that LT gene-positive E. fergusonii from chicken meat and feces contain an IncFII plasmid harboring elt1AB, and suggested to spread clonally to retail chicken through fecal contamination. Additionally, it was found that these strains harbor multidrug-resistant genes on their plasmids. Their pathogenicity and continuous monitoring are required for confirmation.

Keywords: Escherichia fergusonii; Japan; heat-labile enterotoxin; retail chicken meat; whole-genome sequencing.