Distribution of Virulence Genes in Campylobacter spp. Isolated from Agaricus Mushrooms in Iran

The white button mushroom (Agaricus) is a significant nutritional and therapeutic species utilized in the human diet and could transmit various bacterial infections. Campylobacter species are the most common cause of foodborne illness across the world. The present study has been planned to determine the frequency of virulence genes and antibiotic susceptibility test in Campylobacter spp. recovered from Agaricus mushroom. In this study, 740 Agaricus mushroom samples were gathered randomly from various markets from June 2020 to December 2020. Confirmation of Campylobacter spp. using biochemical analyses and 23S rRNA-based PCR was performed. The agar dilution technique was used to determine resistance to antibiotics using gentamicin (GM10μg), ciprofloxacin (CIP5μg), nalidixic acid (NA30μg), tetracycline (TE30μg), ampicillin (AM10μg), amoxicillin+ clavulanic acid (AMC30μg), erythromycine (E15μg), azithromycin (AZM15μg), clindamycin (CC2μg), and chloramphenicol (C30μg). Multiplex PCR was utilized to determine the prevalence of the recR, dnaJ, wlaN, virBll, cdtC, cdtB, cdtA, flaA, cadF, pidA, ciaB, ceuE, and cgtB genes. Campylobacter spp. were detected in 74 out of 740 Agaricus mushroom samples (10%). According to the data, Agaricus mushroom samples included 32 (4.32%) C. jejuni, 11 (1.48%) C. coli, and 31 (4.18%) other Campylobacter spp. Antimicrobial resistance was most common in C. jejuni isolates. C. jejuni isolates also had the lowest resistance rate to gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid. C. coli isolates were reported to have the highest antimicrobial resistance to ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, and erythromycine. Resistance to gentamycin and amoxicillin+ clavulanic acid was likewise lowest among C. coli strains. The flaA and ciaB genes were found in 100% of B-lactams-susceptible C. jejuni and C. coli strains. When examining the relationship between antibiotic resistance and the existence of virulence genes, it was observed that there is a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001) between bacterial resistance and virulence genes. Our findings indicated that changes in resistance patterns in Campylobacter strains have emerged from multiple treatment approaches in Agaricus mushrooms.