Phylogenetic relationships, virulence and antimicrobial resistance properties of Klebsiella sp. isolated from pet turtles in Korea

Klebsiella sp. are responsible for a multitude of infectious diseases in both humans and animals. In this study, phylogenetic relationships, virulence and antimicrobial resistance gene properties of 16 Klebsiella sp. isolated from 49 pet turtles were investigated. The isolates including Klebsiella oxytoca (n = 13) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 3) were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and each species formed distinct clusters in the neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree. The prevalence of virulence genes including ureC (100%) and kfu (68 center dot 75%) was observed among the isolates using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The fimH, mrkD and rmpA genes were detected in all K. pneumoniae while these were absent in every K. oxytoca isolate. In antimicrobial susceptibility testing, high resistance rates were observed against ampicillin (100%) and cephalothin (62 center dot 50%). The resistance rates against imipenem, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin were 12 center dot 50, 12 center dot 50, 12 center dot 50, 6 center dot 25 and 6 center dot 25% respectively. The presence of antimicrobial resistance genes such as plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) [qnrB (37 center dot 50%), qnrA (31 center dot 25%), qnrS (12 center dot 50%) and aac(6')-Ib-cr (12 center dot 50%)], extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) [bla(CTX-M) (18 center dot 75%)], beta-lactamase [bla(SHV-1) (18 center dot 75%)] and tetracycline resistance [tetE (12 center dot 50%)] was observed. The results revealed that pet turtle-borne Klebsiella sp. may carry different types of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes which represents a potential threat to public health.