ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance and New Antimicrobial drugs
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1570422
Comparative Evaluation of Biofilm-Forming Capacity in Uropathogenic and Commensal Escherichia coli
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Microbiology, JSS Medical College and Hospital, JSS AHER, Mysuru, India
- 2Department of Microbiology, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysuru, India
- 3Quorum Sensing Laboratory, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, India
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Introduction: Escherichia coli (E. coli) causes most of the urinary tract infections (UTIs) via virulence factors like biofilms. This study identifies key virulence genes and emphasises the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) for effectively treating biofilm-associated infections.Methodology: 180 Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolated from patients with different categories (Cystitis, pyelonephritis, recurrent UTI, catheter associated UTI, asymptomatic bacteriuria) of UTI and 30 commensal E. coli isolated from healthy individuals were evaluated for biofilm production by phenotypic methods using tissue culture plate, tube adherence, and Congo red method, and RT-PCR was used to genetically characterise them.Results: This study analysed 1600 urine samples from UTI patients, with 498 showing significant bacterial growth and 180 identifying E. coli as the pathogen. The female-to-male ratio of UTI cases was 0.74. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed 100% sensitivity to tigecycline and fosfomycin, 89.44%, 86.11%, 81.66%, and 72.22% sensitivity to nitrofurantoin, amikacin, imipenem, and meropenem, respectively. Only 64.44% were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, with 10% being multidrug-resistant (MDR). Moreover, 18.33% of UPEC isolates produced mettalo-beta-lactamases (MBL), and 13.33% produced AmpC betalactamases. Biofilm production was observed in 72.22% of UPEC isolates compared to 16.66% in commensal isolates. The biofilm-forming UPEC, compared to commensal E. coli, has significantly higher antibiotic resistance, with a 128-fold reduction in ciprofloxacin susceptibility. Additionally, the fimH gene was detected in 98.33% of UPEC isolates.This study shows that UPEC strains produce specific virulence determinants like adhesion to uroepithelial cells. Screening for virulence factors should be integrated into microbiology laboratories. MBEC (Minimum Biofilm Eradication Concentration) detection can guide antibiotic choice and dosing. Specific virulence genes linked to UPEC may serve as potential targets for prophylactic strategies to prevent recurrent infections and improve management.
Keywords: Biofilm production, Uropathogenic Escherichia coli, multiplex PCR, Urinary tract infection, Congo-red method, Tissue culture plate method
Received: 19 Feb 2025; Accepted: 23 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mahale, K, Solomon, Maheshwarappa and Mahadevaiah. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sumana Mahadevaiah, Department of Microbiology, JSS Medical College and Hospital, JSS AHER, Mysuru, India
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