Occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, integrons and virulence genes in Escherichia coli isolated from drinking water in Van, Turkiye: a cross-sectional study

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dc.contributor.authorRakici, Erva
dc.contributor.authorAydin, Elif
dc.contributor.authorTanriverdi, Elif Seren
dc.contributor.authorOzgumus, Osman Birol
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-04T13:33:13Z
dc.date.available2026-04-04T13:33:13Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.departmentİnönü Üniversitesi
dc.description.abstractBackground Escherichia coli is one of the recommended freshwater indicator organisms for faecal contamination and can be associated with the pool of genes encoding antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular characterisation of antibiotic resistance and to identify the virulence genes in E. coli isolated from drinking water samples collected for the purpose of monitoring microbial drinking water quality. Methods The E. coli isolates (n = 244) from municipal tap water samples collected in Van province in Turkiye over a five-month period in 2018 were examined in this study. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the standard disc diffusion method with 12 antibiotics. Integron content, the resistance genes such as bla(TEM), bla(SHV), bla(CTX-M) groups, tetA-E genes, qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qepA, and aac(6')-Ib-cr were screened and the virulence genes (afa, sfa, fimA, hly, iroN, aer, cnf, iutA and pap) were assessed by specific PCRs. The fingerprinting of the isolates harbouring the integron was evaluated using dendogram analysis of the band patterns obtained from the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR. Results Ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, nalidixic acid and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole were the most common resistances. MAR index of 18.03% of the isolates was greater than 0.2. The two isolates produced ESBL. Thirty seven (15.16%) isolates carried the class 1 or class 2 integrons harboured the gene cassettes such as aadA, sat, estX and unnamed protein gene. Thirty two (21.47%) isolates were found to carry bla(TEM), 5 (3.33%) isolates carried bla(SHV) and 2 (1.3%) isolates carried the bla(CTX-M) group genes. tetA (81.25%) and tetB (91.66%) were present in tetracycline-resistant isolates. qnrS (29.92%), qnrB and aac(6')-Ib-cr (3.84%) were present in the nalidixic acid resistant isolates. Most of the isolates carried the virulence genes such as fimA, iutA, iroN, aer and sfa. Isolates belonged to 65.57% B1, 15.98% A, 9.42% D and 9.01% B2 phylogroups. A statistically significant difference was found between the phylogenetic groups of the isolates and the integron content (p < 0.001). Fingerprinting showed the 25 different phylotypes in four clusters. Conclusions Molecular epidemiological findings in such a five-month period in the 11 sampled districts in the city of Van appearently showed us that the tap waters in public use was continuously contaminated by the antibiotic resistant and virulent E. coli isolates. This could pose a serious public health risk and, thus need the serious precautions for the infrastructures.
dc.description.sponsorshipRecey Tayyip Erdogan University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [TSA-2020-1188]
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was financially supported by the Recey Tayyip Erdogan University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project Number TSA-2020-1188).
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12866-025-04046-9
dc.identifier.issn1471-2180
dc.identifier.issue1
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0002-4464-4882
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0449-0356
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0003-0877-453X
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0002-3665-6584
dc.identifier.pmid40448018
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-105006924014
dc.identifier.scopusqualityN/A
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-04046-9
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11616/108988
dc.identifier.volume25
dc.identifier.wosWOS:001499610600002
dc.identifier.wosqualityQ2
dc.indekslendigikaynakWeb of Science
dc.indekslendigikaynakScopus
dc.indekslendigikaynakPubMed
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherBmc
dc.relation.ispartofBmc Microbiology
dc.relation.publicationcategoryMakale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.snmzKA_WOS_20250329
dc.subjectEscherichia coli
dc.subjectMAR index
dc.subjectVirulence gene
dc.subjectIntegron
dc.subjectPhylogenetic analysis
dc.titleOccurrence of antimicrobial resistance, integrons and virulence genes in Escherichia coli isolated from drinking water in Van, Turkiye: a cross-sectional study
dc.typeArticle

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