Background: Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) biofilm is grown not only on medical devices but also on different substrata and is considered a potential hazard in the food industry. Quorum sensing plays a serious role in the synthesis of biofilm with its surrounding extracellular matrix enabling irreversible connection of the bacteria.
Aim: The goal of the current investigation was to ascertain the prevalence, patterns of antimicrobial resistance, and capacity for B. cereus biofilm formation in meat and meat products in Egypt.
Methods: In all, 150 meat and meat product samples were used in this study. For additional bacteriological analysis, the samples were moved to the Bacteriology Laboratory. Thereafter, the antimicrobial, antiquorum sensing, and antibiofilm potential of apple cider vinegar (ACV) on B. cereus were evaluated.
Results: Out of 150 samples, 34 (22.67%) tested positive for B. cereus. According to tests for antimicrobial susceptibility, every B. cereus isolates tested positive for colistin and ampicillin but negative for ciprofloxacin and imipenem. The ability to form biofilms was present in all 12 multidrug-resistant B. cereus isolates (n = 12); of these, 6 (50%), 3 (25%), and 3 (25%) isolates were weak, moderate, and strong biofilm producers, respectively. It is noteworthy that the ACV demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on B. cereus isolates, with minimum inhibitory concentrations varying between 2 and 8 μg/ml. Furthermore, after exposing biofilm-producing B. cereus isolates to the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations 50 of 4 μg/ml, it demonstrated good antibiofilm activity (>50% reduction of biofilm formation). Strong biofilm producers had down-regulated biofilm genes (tasA and sipW) and their regulator (plcR) compared to the control group, according to reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis.
Conclusion: Our study is the first report, that spotlights the ACV activity against B. cereus biofilm and its consequence as a strong antibacterial and antibiofilm agent in the food industry and human health risk.
Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Apple cider vinegar; B. cereus; Biofilm.