Multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae in yellow‐legged gull chicks in their first weeks of life

Marion Vittecoq (1, 2) , Lionel Brazier (3, 2) , Eric Elguero (2) , Ignacio Bravo (4, 2) , Nicolas Renaud (5) , Alejandro Manzano-Marín (6) , Franck Prugnolle (7, 8, 2) , Sylvain Godreuil (2) , Thomas Blanchon (1) , François Roux (2) , Patrick Durand (2, 9) , François Renaud (8, 2) , Frédéric Thomas (10, 2)

1 Institut de recherche de la Tour du Valat
2 MIVEGEC - Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle
3 MIVEGEC-EVCO - Evolution of host-microbe communities
4 MIVEGEC-Virostyle - Virostyle
5 Laboratoire Synlab Provence
6 University of Vienna [Vienna]
7 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
8 CREES - Centre de Recherche en Ecologie et Evolution de la Santé
9 Nelson Mandela University [Port Elizabeth]
10 MIVEGEC-CREEC - Centre de Recherches Ecologiques et Evolutives sur le Cancer

Wild animal species living in anthropogenic areas are commonly carriers of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMRB), but their role in the epidemiology of these bacteria is unclear. Several studies on AMRB in wildlife have been cross-sectional in design and sampled individual animals at only one point in time. To further understand the role of wildlife in maintaining and potentially transmitting these bacteria to humans and livestock, longitudinal studies are needed in which samples are collected from individual animals over multiple time periods. In Europe, free-ranging yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) commonly live in industrialized areas, forage in landfills, and have been found to carry AMRB in their feces. Using bacterial metagenomics and antimicrobial resistance characterization, we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of AMRB in a nesting colony of yellow-legged gulls from an industrialized area in southern France. We collected 54 cloacal swabs from 31 yellow-legged gull chicks in 20 nests on three dates in 2016. We found that AMRB in chicks increased over time and was not spatially structured within the gull colony. This study highlights the complex occurrence of AMRB in a free-ranging wildlife species and contributes to our understanding of the public health risks and implications associated with ARMB-carrying gulls living in anthropogenic areas.

Mots clés: Larus; Antimicrobial resistance; Enterobacteria; Third‐generation cephalosporin; Whole‐genome sequencing; Wild birds

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Ecologie, Environnement

Marion Vittecoq, Lionel Brazier, Eric Elguero, Ignacio Bravo, Nicolas Renaud, et al.. Multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae in yellow‐legged gull chicks in their first weeks of life. Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 12 (6), pp.e8974. ⟨10.1002/ece3.8974⟩. ⟨hal-03863583⟩