Investigating antimicrobial resistance genes in probiotic products for companion animals
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: One of the greatest challenges of our time is antimicrobial resistance, which could become the leading cause of death globally within a few decades. In the context of One Health, it is in the common interest to mitigate the global spread of antimicrobial resistance by seeking alternative solutions, alongside appropriate drug selection and responsible use. Probiotics offer a potential avenue to reduce antibiotic usage; however, there is a scarcity of research that examines commercial products in terms of carrying antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) involved in resistance development through microbial vectors. Methods: Our study investigated 10 commercially available probiotic products for cats and dogs. Initially, we conducted phenotypic testing through determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for antibiotics important in animal and public health. Subsequently, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the products to elucidate the genetic background behind the decrease in phenotypic sensitivity. Results: In total, 19 types of ARGs were identified, with 57.9% being found on plasmids, and in two cases, carriage as mobile genetic elements were found. One of the genes identified was the APH(3′)-Ia gene, capable of inactivating aminoglycoside antibiotics through phosphotransferase enzyme production regulation, while the other was the tetS gene, capable of conferring reduced sensitivity to tetracycline antibiotics through target protection. Discussion: Our findings underscore the importance of approaching antimicrobial resistance investigations from a broader perspective. We suggest that further studies in this area are justified and raise questions regarding the need to extend legally required studies on probiotic products from their use in economic livestock to their use in companion animals.
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Commercial probiotic products may require independent identity verification and strain-level confirmation in addition to ARG screening.
“they agree with previous reports that commercial probiotic products may require independent identity verification and strain-level confirmation in addition to ARG screening [18,26]”
From Integrated Phenotypic and Sequencing-Based Resistome Assessment of Antimicrobial Resistance Determinants in a Sample of Commercial Farm-Animal Probiotic Products (2026) · cites this paper as [26]
Materials and methods §2.1 reports testing purchased probiotic products and checking the species identity of isolates with MALDI-TOF; the Discussion recommends resistance profiling and genetic screening for ARGs. The paper lists strain identifiers but does not report strain-level confirmation or recommend it as an additional requirement. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredRecurrent Enterococcus-associated background genes should not be treated as equivalent to acquired mobile ARGs.
“These observations support our interpretation that recurrent Enterococcus-associated background genes should not be treated as equivalent to acquired mobile ARGs.”
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“…sets have repeatedly been described in E. faecium strains evaluated for probiotic or food-use safety, where aac(6 ′ )-Ii , msrC and efmA are often regarded as species-associated, chromosomal or intrinsic/background determinants rather than immediate evidence of transferable resistance [23,26–28].”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Kerek, A., Szabó, E., Szabó, Á., Papp, M., Bányai, K., Kardos, G., Kaszab, E., Bali, K., & Jerzsele, Á.
- Affiliations
- University of Veterinary Medicine (HU)
- University of Debrecen (HU)
- Venue
- Frontiers in Veterinary Science
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2024-10-22
- Volume
- 11
- Pages
- 1464351-1464351
- ISSN
- 2297-1769 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11534615
- OpenAlex
- W4403659196
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 1.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- corrigendum (2024-12-17)
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Veterinary Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovaciós Alap (RRF-2.3)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- antimicrobial resistance genes, probiotics, companion animals, cats, dogs, commercial probiotic products, plasmids, mobile genetic elements, aminoglycoside resistance, tetracycline resistance, One Health, antibiotic use reduction
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