Molecular Genetic and Functional Analysis of -Harboring, Extra-Intestinal Pathogenic From India.

Colibactin, a genotoxin, encoded by the pathogenicity island of belonging to the B2 phylogroup has been reported as a determinant of bacterial pathogenicity. The present study was carried out to detect the pathogenicity island in extraintestinal pathogenic (ExPEC) isolated from a tertiary hospital in Pune, India. Of 462 isolates analyzed, the genomic island was detected in 35 (7.6%) isolates, which predominantly belonged to pathogenic phylogroup B2 (97%), and harbored virulence genes such as , and . Biofilm formation assay revealed 21 of the 35 carrying isolates to be strong (SBF > 1.0), 10 isolates to be moderate (SBF = 0.5-1.0), and 4 as weak (SBF < 0.5) biofilm formers. All of the carrying isolates proved resistant against bactericidal activity of human serum. Assays carried out to detect antimicrobial susceptibility revealed 11% of these isolates to be multidrug resistant, 37% producing ESBL and 25% were positive for . The observed prevalence of multidrug resistance and colibactin producing characteristics among pathogenic belonging to phylogenetic group B2 advocate urgent need for broader surveillance in order to understand and prevent transmission of these ExPEC in community and hospital settings.