Tarbiat Modares University Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology 2588-4107 8 4 2022 12 01 Antibacterial Resistance and Virulence Potential of Avian Colibacillosis-Causing Escherichia coli Isolates 307 315 1900 10.52547/iem.8.4.307 EN Zohreh Pourhossein Department of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran Leila Asadpour Department of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran Hadi Habibollahi Department of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran Seyedeh Tooba Shafighi Department of Biology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran Journal Article Backgrounds: This study was done to evaluate the distribution of virulence-associated genes and antibiotic resistance in avian colibacillosis-causing Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates. Materials & Methods: In this study, 122 E. coli strains isolated from colibacillosis-suspected chickens in commercial broiler poultry farms (Guilan province, Iran) were examined for the presence of 12 virulence genes (hlyF, iroN, iss, iutA, ompT, astA, tra, sfa-foc, papC, fimH, cvi/cva, and Tia) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial susceptibility assessment was performed for the isolates using disc diffusion method against 19 antibiotics. Findings: The fimH, iut, tra, iss, iroN, hly, and ompT genes were detected as the most prevalent genes among colibacillosis-causing isolates (more than 70%), while sfa-foc (S fimbriae and F1C fimbriae subunits) had the lowest frequency among colibacillosis-causing E. coli isolates (3.28%). Conclusion: Virulence-associated genes were frequently detected in avian pathogenic E. coli strains. These findings could help better understand the pathogenicity potential of E. coli in poultry. Preventative measures are necessary to reduce food and environmental contamination with avian E. coli strains.

https://iem.modares.ac.ir/article_1900_9fdb62f932adf55af2c0e09e55861964.pdf