Genomic features and heat resistance profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from Brazilian beef

Abstract

Aims: Characterize Escherichia coli and E. coli -producing (STEC) isolates from Brazilian beef to determine heat resistance and the presence of the transmissible locus of stress tolerance (tLST). Methods and Results: Twenty-two STEC previously isolated from beef and characterized as STEC by PCR were subjected to different heat survival challenges (60°C and 71°C). Furthermore, the three tLST-positive isolates and one tLST-negative isolate by PCR were selected for WGS analysis. Phenotypic results indicated that 3/22 (13.64%) were heat resistant, 12/22 (54.54%) were moderately resistant, and 7/22 (31.82%) were sensitive to heat treatments. WGS analyses showed that three isolates with heat resistance showed tLST with up to 80% and 42% of similarity by BLAST analysis, with the major tLST genes being responsible for the homeostasis module. However, WGS showed the absence of stx genes associated with tLST-positive isolates, albeit with virulence and resistance genes found in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the presence of heat-resistant E. coli as well as confirm some tLST genes in E. coli isolated from Brazilian beef.