ED026-0081
What are the Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that can be Found in Cat Faeces?
Abstract:
Goal
This project selects and identifies antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria from cat faeces and analyses their virulence.
Background
The microbiota of a house cats guts can host a magnitude of different microbes with some being antibiotic-resistant bacteria; some common gut bacteria include- E. Coli, Lactobacillus and Eubacterium. According to the CDC, antibiotic-resistant bacteria infect around two million people and kill around 35 thousand in the US. House cats are a common type of household pet in Hong Kong and although most antibiotic-resistant bacteria are non-pathogenic, some strains represent an increasing risk to human health.
In Hong Kong, cats and their owners live in confined spaces, which prevents the house cat from moving to different locations. The information above indicates that the environment used by a house cat is similar to their owners; suggesting that it would be a good indication of the bacteria found among locations frequently used by humans. Due to the fact that the house cat has a range of bacteria in its microbiome, it could show the commonality antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Due to the fact that the owner and the house cat frequently interact with each other, bacteria from the cat could easily transmit to the owner causing harm to the owner’s health. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria’s abundance can then be estimated by looking at the number of resistant colonies.
Method
Nine isolates were taken from a diluted cat faeces sample and grown on LB agar. Samples were transferred to LB agar containing ampicillin, kanamycin, or tetracycline. Two of the nine isolates were selected and passaged for 8 generations. DNA was extracted using the Invitrogen PureLink DNA Mini Kit. Illumina MiSeq platform was used to perform shotgun sequencing. Genomic analysis included CGI VirulenceFinder and CARD (The Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database)..