Scholarlink

<p>The occurrence, taxonomic identity, drug resistance pattern and virulence traits of cultivable environmental <i>Leptospira</i> inhabiting the Indian subcontinent remain largely unexplored. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of six novel strains of <i>Leptospira</i> from environmental samples and decode their drug resistance and virulence traits using <i>in silico</i> and <i>in vitro</i> approaches. Among six new isolates of <i>Leptospira</i>, two strains were identified to represent <i>L. interrogans</i> (SA-L3 and SA-L4), originating from sewage that flows proximal to a wildlife enclosure in Mangalore. We also found a strain each of <i>L. levettii</i> (SA-E5), <i>L. kmetyi</i> (SA-E7), <i>L. koniambonensis</i> (SA-E9) and <i>Leptospira</i> sp. (SA-E8, a putative <i>L. andrefontaineae</i>-like new species of <i>Leptospira</i>) within a ~ 5000 sq. ft. farmland area at Halageri, Uttara Kannada District, India. All isolates exhibited hemolysis and harbored genes encoding diverse sphingomyelinases. All strains were resistant to vancomycin, rifamycin, aztreonam, lincomycin, nalidixic acid, minocycline and troleandomycin and carried genes for a multitude of proteins conferring drug-resistant mechanisms. <i>Leptospira</i> sp. SA-E8 exhibited superior virulence traits and significant biofilm formation <i>in vitro</i>. Comparative genomics revealed remarkable interspecies variations in genome size (4.0‒4.8 Mbp), GC content (35.1‒44.8), coding sequences (3823‒5296) and RNA (39‒43). All strains exhibited the oxidation of diverse organic acids and were equipped with genetic machinery for ketone body oxidation. Our study demonstrated the occurrence of genetically distant <i>Leptospira</i> in environmental samples collected from India and provided evidence for conserved multidrug resistance and virulence, offering new dimensions to the theranostics of Leptospirosis. We suggest the inclusion of <i>L. levettii</i> SA-E5, <i>L. kmetyi</i> SA-E7, <i>L. koniambonensis</i> SA-E9 and <i>Leptospira</i> sp. SA-E8 in the array of leptospiral antigens being used in sero-epidemiological studies to establish their seroprevalence in humans, rodents and livestock.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Multidrug-resistant and virulence traits in genetically distinct vesicular Leptospira inhabiting farmland and sewage in Southern India

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月4日

查看全文
  • Amin Sonam,
  • Asif Hameed,
  • Paul Stothard,
  • Jason R. Grant,
  • Rouchelle Charmaine Tellis,
  • Ananthapadmanabha Bhagwath Arun

摘要

The occurrence, taxonomic identity, drug resistance pattern and virulence traits of cultivable environmental Leptospira inhabiting the Indian subcontinent remain largely unexplored. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of six novel strains of Leptospira from environmental samples and decode their drug resistance and virulence traits using in silico and in vitro approaches. Among six new isolates of Leptospira, two strains were identified to represent L. interrogans (SA-L3 and SA-L4), originating from sewage that flows proximal to a wildlife enclosure in Mangalore. We also found a strain each of L. levettii (SA-E5), L. kmetyi (SA-E7), L. koniambonensis (SA-E9) and Leptospira sp. (SA-E8, a putative L. andrefontaineae-like new species of Leptospira) within a ~ 5000 sq. ft. farmland area at Halageri, Uttara Kannada District, India. All isolates exhibited hemolysis and harbored genes encoding diverse sphingomyelinases. All strains were resistant to vancomycin, rifamycin, aztreonam, lincomycin, nalidixic acid, minocycline and troleandomycin and carried genes for a multitude of proteins conferring drug-resistant mechanisms. Leptospira sp. SA-E8 exhibited superior virulence traits and significant biofilm formation in vitro. Comparative genomics revealed remarkable interspecies variations in genome size (4.0‒4.8 Mbp), GC content (35.1‒44.8), coding sequences (3823‒5296) and RNA (39‒43). All strains exhibited the oxidation of diverse organic acids and were equipped with genetic machinery for ketone body oxidation. Our study demonstrated the occurrence of genetically distant Leptospira in environmental samples collected from India and provided evidence for conserved multidrug resistance and virulence, offering new dimensions to the theranostics of Leptospirosis. We suggest the inclusion of L. levettii SA-E5, L. kmetyi SA-E7, L. koniambonensis SA-E9 and Leptospira sp. SA-E8 in the array of leptospiral antigens being used in sero-epidemiological studies to establish their seroprevalence in humans, rodents and livestock.