Characterization of antibiotic determinants and heavy metal resistance genes in <i>Escherichia coli</i> from pigs in Catalonia.

ABSTRACT: More antibiotics are administered to livestock animals than to treat human infections. Industrialization, large animal densities and early weaning mean pigs are exposed to more antibiotics than any other livestock animal. Consequently, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is common among commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Heavy metals (HMs) are also often used as feed additives for growth promotion and infection prevention alongside antimicrobials, and increased exposure to copper, zinc and cadmium can further encourage AMR through co-selection. In this study, we sequenced an archived collection of 112 Escherichia coli isolates from pigs in Catalonia using short- and long-read sequencing methods to detect AMR and HM tolerance genes. The most common AMR genes were mdfA (84.8%), a

SUBMITTER: Garcias B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11937225 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature