Drivers and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance and Salmonella in Brazilian pig and poultry production

• Grant number: 18/21216-5
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: May 01, 2019 - April 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Cooperation agreement: BBSRC, UKRI ; Newton Fund, with FAPESP as a partner institution in Brazil
• Principal researcher: Andrea Micke Moreno
• Grantee: Andrea Micke Moreno
• Principal researcher abroad: Alison E Mather
• Institution abroad: Quadram Institute Bioscience, England
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Luisa Zanolli Moreno ; Terezinha Knöbl
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/18551-0 - Drivers and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance and Salmonella in Brazilian pig and poultry production, BP.PD

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacterial pathogens from production animals pose a major threat to animal and human health and have a significant economic impact on production. Salmonella enterica is one of the most important bacterial pathogens in swine and poultry, which are two of the major reservoirs for human infections. The change in these production systems in the last 10 to 15 years caused dramatic changes in the prevalence of Salmonella serotypes observed in livestock in Brazil. These changes are probably driven by antimicrobial use and resistance, but this question has not yet been fully investigated. The present project is based on results obtained in the initial pump-priming concession investigating the diversity of AMR in Salmonella strains isolated from swine and poultry in the last 10 years in Brazil. In the course of this next step, we will significantly increase the number of available Salmonella genomes originating from Brazilian production; in this way, it will be possible to identify how they fit into the global context and to identify when specific subtypes have emerged in the country. The genetic determinants that facilitate the persistence of Salmonella in the production chain will also be evaluated. Investigating the changes in AMR and serotypes throughout the life of production animals will be able to improve vaccination strategies. Finally, AMR will also be evaluated in nonpathogenic bacteria co-resident in the intestinal microbiota of the studied herds and, correlating the resistance with the use of antimicrobials, it will be possible to verify the potential role of these bacteria as reservoir of resistance genes for pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, since these can move between bacteria through the horizontal transfer of genes. These objectives will be achieved using full genome sequencing (WGS) and the latest generation of long reads sequencing, combined with molecular biology and epidemiology. (AU)