Identification phenotypic and genotypic characterization of biofilm formation in Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infections and their antibiotics resistance

OBJECTIVE: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infectious diseases, and Escherichia coli is the most common pathogen isolated from patients with UTIs. The products of sfa, afa and foc genes are important for binding of the bacterium to urinary tract epithelium. Our aim was to investigate these genes in E. colis isolated from patients with UTIS. The frequencies of the genes were determined using PCR. Biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance rates were determined using microtiter plate and disk diffusion methods, respectively. The P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The frequencies of sfa, afa and foc were 75.3%, 17.5% and 22.5%, respectively showing a significantly higher prevalence of the sfa gene. The most effective antibiotics against the E. colis were nitrofurantoin and amikacin. The highest microbial resistance rates were also observed against amoxicillin and ampicillin. Furthermore, 12.7%, 6.3%, 74.7% and 6.3% of the isolates showed strong, moderate, weak capacities and no connections to form biofilms, respectively. The expression of the sfa gene was significantly associated with forming strong biofilms. Regarding the variabilities in the characteristics of E. coli strains associated with UTIs, it seems reasonable to adjust diagnostic and therapeutic methods according to the regional microbial characteristics.