Pseudomonads from wild free-living sea turtles in Principe Island, Gulf of Guinea

Dissemination of antibiotic resistance is a major concern, especially in aquatic environments, where pollution contributes for resistant bacteria selection. These strains may have serious health implications, especially for endangered species, including the sea turtles' hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and green turtles Chelonia mydas. We aimed to evaluate the presence of antibiotic resistant pseudomonads in wild sea turtles from Principe Island, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea Gulf. Isolates were obtained from oral and cloacal swabs of free-living turtles by conventional techniques. Pseudomonads screening was performed by multiplex-PCR (oprl/oprL) and biochemical identification and antibiotic resistance profiling were achieved using Vitek2. All pseudomonad isolates were genotyped by Rep-PCR. Thirteen isolates were oprl-positive and classified as pseudomonads, eight from the genus Pseudomonas with the species P. aeruginosa, P. stutzeri, and P. mendocina, and five co-isolated Alcaligenes faecalis. The P. aeruginosa isolate was also oprL-positive. Regarding isolates susceptibility profile, 38.5% were susceptible to all antibiotics tested, and multidrug resistant (MDR) strains were not identified. DNA fingerprinting did not show any specific clonal-cluster similarity. Data on the worldwide incidence of antibiotic resistance among wildlife is still very scarce, especially concerning remote tropical areas. Since Pseudomonas genus has emerged as a group of increasingly reported opportunistic microorganisms in human and veterinary medicine with high resistance levels, it could be used as a tool for environmental resistance surveillance, particularly considering their ubiquity.Oceandrio de Lisboa, PortugalMarine Turtle Conservation Act - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grantInterdisciplinary Research Centre for Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon (FMV/UL) [UID/CVT/00276/2013]Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium