Identification and characterization of mcr mediated colistin resistance in extraintestinal Escherichia coli from poultry and livestock in China

Antimicrobial resistance to colistin has emerged worldwide threatening the efficacy of one of the last-resort antimicrobials used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infection in humans. In this study, we investigated the presence of colistin resistance genes (mcr-1, mcr-2, mcr-3) in Escherichia coli strains isolated from poultry and livestock collected between 2004 and 2012 in China. Furthermore, we studied the maintenance and transfer of the mcr-1 gene in E. coli after serial passages. Overall, 2.7% (17/624) of the E. coli isolates were positive for the mcr-1 gene while none were positive for the mcr-2 and mcr-3 genes. The prevalences of mcr-1 were similar in E. coli isolates from chickens (3.2%; 13/404), pigs (0.9%; 1/113) and ducks (6.8%; 3/44) but were absent in isolates from cattle (0/63). The mcr-1 gene was maintained in the E. coli after six passages (equivalent to 60 generations). In vitro transfer of mcr-1 was evident even without colistin selection. Our data indicate the presence of mcr-1 in extraintestinal E. coli from food-producing animals in China, and suggest that high numbers of the mcr-1-positive bacteria in poultry and livestock do not appear to be readily lost after withdrawal of colistin as a food additive.