This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Khachatryan, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Call, D. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Khachatryan, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Call, D. R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Khachatryan, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Call, D. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2004, p. 752-757, Vol. 70, No. 2
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.2.752-757.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Role of Calf-Adapted Escherichia coli in Maintenance of Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Dairy Calves

Artashes R. Khachatryan,1 Dale D. Hancock,2 Thomas E. Besser,1 and Douglas R. Call1*

Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology,1 Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 991642

Received 18 June 2003/ Accepted 29 October 2003

The prevalence of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria is typically highest in younger animals, and prevalence is not necessarily related to recent use of antimicrobial drugs. In dairy cattle, we hypothesize that antimicrobial drug-resistant, neonate-adapted bacteria are responsible for the observed high frequencies of resistant Escherichia coli in calves. To explore this issue, we examined the age distribution of antimicrobial drug-resistant E. coli from Holstein cattle at a local dairy and conducted an experiment to determine if low doses of oxytetracycline affected the prevalence of antimicrobial drug-resistant E. coli. Isolates resistant to tetracycline (>4 µg/ml) were more prevalent in <3-month-old calves (79%) compared with lactating cows (14%). In an experimental trial where calves received diets supplemented with or without oxytetracycline, the prevalence of tetracycline-resistant E. coli was slightly higher for the latter group (P = 0.039), indicating that drug use was not required to maintain a high prevalence of resistant E. coli. The most common resistance pattern among calf E. coli isolates included resistance to streptomycin (>12 µg/ml), sulfadiazine (>512 µg/ml), and tetracycline (>4 µg/ml) (SSuT), and this resistance pattern was most prevalent during the period when calves were on milk diets. To determine if prevalence was a function of differential fitness, we orally inoculated animals with nalidixic acid-resistant strains of SSuT E. coli and susceptible E. coli. Shedding of SSuT E. coli was significantly greater than that of susceptible strains in neonatal calves (P < 0.001), whereas there was no difference in older animals (P = 0.5). These data support the hypothesis that active selection for traits linked to the SSuT phenotype are responsible for maintaining drug-resistant E. coli in this population of dairy calves.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, 402 Bustad Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040. Phone: (509) 335-6313. Fax: (509) 335-8529. E-mail: drcall{at}wsu.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2004, p. 752-757, Vol. 70, No. 2
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.2.752-757.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Singer, R. S., Patterson, S. K., Wallace, R. L. (2008). Effects of Therapeutic Ceftiofur Administration to Dairy Cattle on Escherichia coli Dynamics in the Intestinal Tract. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6956-6962 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sharma, R., Munns, K., Alexander, T., Entz, T., Mirzaagha, P., Yanke, L. J., Mulvey, M., Topp, E., McAllister, T. (2008). Diversity and Distribution of Commensal Fecal Escherichia coli Bacteria in Beef Cattle Administered Selected Subtherapeutic Antimicrobials in a Feedlot Setting. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6178-6186 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Khachatryan, A. R., Besser, T. E., Call, D. R. (2008). The Streptomycin-Sulfadiazine-Tetracycline Antimicrobial Resistance Element of Calf-Adapted Escherichia coli Is Widely Distributed among Isolates from Washington State Cattle. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 391-395 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Walk, S. T., Mladonicky, J. M., Middleton, J. A., Heidt, A. J., Cunningham, J. R., Bartlett, P., Sato, K., Whittam, T. S. (2007). Influence of Antibiotic Selection on Genetic Composition of Escherichia coli Populations from Conventional and Organic Dairy Farms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 5982-5989 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Smith, J. L., Drum, D. J. V., Dai, Y., Kim, J. M., Sanchez, S., Maurer, J. J., Hofacre, C. L., Lee, M. D. (2007). Impact of Antimicrobial Usage on Antimicrobial Resistance in Commensal Escherichia coli Strains Colonizing Broiler Chickens. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 1404-1414 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pleydell, E. J., Brown, P. E., Woodward, M. J., Davies, R. H., French, N. P. (2007). Sources of Variation in the Ampicillin-Resistant Escherichia coli Concentration in the Feces of Organic Broiler Chickens. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 203-210 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cornick, N. A., Helgerson, A. F., Sharma, V. (2007). Shiga Toxin and Shiga Toxin-Encoding Phage Do Not Facilitate Escherichia coli O157:H7 Colonization in Sheep. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 344-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sawant, A. A., Hegde, N. V., Straley, B. A., Donaldson, S. C., Love, B. C., Knabel, S. J., Jayarao, B. M. (2007). Antimicrobial-Resistant Enteric Bacteria from Dairy Cattle. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 156-163 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Khachatryan, A. R., Besser, T. E., Hancock, D. D., Call, D. R. (2006). Use of a Nonmedicated Dietary Supplement Correlates with Increased Prevalence of Streptomycin-Sulfa-Tetracycline-Resistant Escherichia coli on a Dairy Farm.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 4583-4588 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Berge, A. C. B., Moore, D. A., Sischo, W. M. (2006). Field Trial Evaluating the Influence of Prophylactic and Therapeutic Antimicrobial Administration on Antimicrobial Resistance of Fecal Escherichia coli in Dairy Calves.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 3872-3878 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Donaldson, S. C., Straley, B. A., Hegde, N. V., Sawant, A. A., DebRoy, C., Jayarao, B. M. (2006). Molecular Epidemiology of Ceftiofur-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolates from Dairy Calves.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 3940-3948 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Khachatryan, A. R., Hancock, D. D., Besser, T. E., Call, D. R. (2006). Antimicrobial Drug Resistance Genes Do Not Convey a Secondary Fitness Advantage to Calf-Adapted Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 443-448 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hoyle, D. V., Yates, C. M., Chase-Topping, M. E., Turner, E. J., Davies, S. E., Low, J. C., Gunn, G. J., Woolhouse, M. E. J., Amyes, S. G. B. (2005). Molecular Epidemiology of Antimicrobial-Resistant Commensal Escherichia coli Strains in a Cohort of Newborn Calves. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6680-6688 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Poppe, C., Martin, L. C., Gyles, C. L., Reid-Smith, R., Boerlin, P., McEwen, S. A., Prescott, J. F., Forward, K. R. (2005). Acquisition of Resistance to Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporins by Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Newport and Escherichia coli in the Turkey Poult Intestinal Tract. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 1184-1192 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Luo, N., Pereira, S., Sahin, O., Lin, J., Huang, S., Michel, L., Zhang, Q. (2005). Enhanced in vivo fitness of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni in the absence of antibiotic selection pressure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 541-546 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hoyle, D. V., Shaw, D. J., Knight, H. I., Davison, H. C., Pearce, M. C., Low, J. C., Gunn, G. J., Woolhouse, M. E. J. (2004). Age-Related Decline in Carriage of Ampicillin-Resistant Escherichia coli in Young Calves. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 6927-6930 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bywater, R., Deluyker, H., Deroover, E., de Jong, A., Marion, H., McConville, M., Rowan, T., Shryock, T., Shuster, D., Thomas, V., Valle, M., Walters, J. (2004). A European survey of antimicrobial susceptibility among zoonotic and commensal bacteria isolated from food-producing animals. J Antimicrob Chemother 54: 744-754 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»