Isolation of multidrug resistant coliforms and their bacteriophages from swine slurry

Authors: ADRIAN AUGUSTYNIAK, BARTLOMIEJ GRYGORCEWICZ, PAWE? NAWROTEK

Abstract: Slurry management is a contemporary agricultural problem. Although liquid manure is a valuable fertiliser, it may pose a microbiological threat due to spreading of bacteria resistant to various antibiotics. Fermentation has been proposed as a solution to this problem, although it does not fully eliminate the antibiotic-resistant strains. The presence of gram-negative rods resistant to antimicrobials may cause an uncontrolled transmission of resistance factors and genes in the natural environment. Therefore, a biocontrol system is necessary to prevent this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to detect multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and their lytic bacteriophages in raw swine slurry. For that purpose, MDR bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae were isolated and tested with bacteriophages using a modified detection method. The study suggests that the bacteriophages present in the slurry are active against MDR bacteria and possibly could be used as a biocontrol agent for reduction of these microorganisms in fertilisers of animal origin. In the scope of the results obtained, a novel approach for the evaluation of slurry based on the preselection method is proposed. Moreover, the study reports the first case of isolation of a bacteriophage active against Providencia alcalifaciens .

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, bacteriophages, opportunistic pathogens, slurry evaluation

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