Diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility of oxytetracycline-resistant isolates of Stenotrophomonas sp. and Serratia sp. associated with Costa Rican crops

Abstract

Aims: to ameliorate the identification, evaluate the diversity, and determine the antimicrobial sensitivity of 19 oxytetracycline-resistant isolates of Stenotrophomonas sp. and Serratia sp. associated with Costa Rican crops. Methods and Results: Phenotypical, chemotaxonomical, and molecular data allocated most isolates to the species Sten. maltophilia and Ser. marcescens. The API profiles, antimicrobial resistance patterns (ATB system), and BOXpolymerase chain reaction (PCR) genomic fingerprints of isolates of Stenotrophomonas sp. exhibited a higher degree of heterogeneity than those obtained for the isolates of Serratia sp. The former group of bacteria exhibited multiresistance to antimicrobials. In contrast, isolates of Serratia sp. were sensitive to the majority of the drugs tested. Changes in the results of the antibiograms throughout incubation, which indicate an induction of tolerance, were observed for isolates of both the species. Minimum inhibitory concentration of oxytetracycline, determined using E-test stripes, were rather elevated. Conclusions: The occurrence of two species of opportunistic pathogens in crop-associated materials poses a risk to consumers in the community. Significance and Impact of the Study: The phenotypic and genotypic data presented could support epidemiologist and physicians dealing with infections caused by environmental strains of these taxa.