ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1593887
This article is part of the Research TopicCritical- and High-Priority Pathogens in the Food ChainView all 7 articles
Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESβL)-producing Escherichia coli in antibiotic-free and conventional chicken meat, Brazil
Provisionally accepted
Bruna Fuga1
Ingrith Neves1
Herrison Fontana1Jessica Bispo1
Elder Sano1
Adriana Rocio Cardensas-Arias1Fernanda Esposito1Brenda Cardoso1
Susan Ienne1
Fábio P Sellera1,2
Nilton Lincopan1*- 1Microbiology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil
- 2Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Santos, Brazil
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Background: Contamination of food by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens poses significant risk to consumers and environment, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses, silent colonization, and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria across geographic borders. Methods: This study analyzed 32 retail meat samples (12 chicken, 10 beef, and 10 pork) from conventional (CN) and antibiotic-free (AF) production systems in Brazil, assessing WHO bacterial priority pathogens through whole genome sequencing and microbiological methods. Results: Five broad-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli strains were isolated from AF chicken meat, including four extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESβL) producers belonging to sequence types (STs) ST117, ST443, ST1559 and ST3258, and one pAmpC producer carrying the blaCMY-2 gene and belonging to ST57. On the other hand, four E. coli strains resistant to 3rd generation cephalosporins were identified in CN chicken meat, being three ESβL producers of ST38, ST2179 and ST2040, and one pAmpC producer belonging to ST350. Genes conferring resistance to hazardous heavy metals, disinfectants, and pesticides were identified, whereas virulent potential of E. coli ST350 and ST2040 was predicted. Noteworthy, E. coli ST38 was genomically related to lineages previously identified in poultry (North America) and polluted environments (Europe), supporting an intercontinental dissemination within a One Health framework. Conclusion: Our findings reinforce the need for continuous surveillance of WHO critical priority pathogens in the chicken meat supply chain from different production systems.
Keywords: foodborne pathogens, Retail meat, Chicken meat, Enterobacterales , Genomic surveillance
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fuga, Neves, Fontana, Bispo, Sano, Cardensas-Arias, Esposito, Cardoso, Ienne, Sellera and Lincopan. 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: Nilton Lincopan, Microbiology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil
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