Horse Meat Microbiota: Determination of Biofilm Formation and Antibiotic Resistance of Isolated Spp.

Domestic horses could be bred for leisure activities and meat production, as is already the case in many countries. Horse meat is consumed in various countries, including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and with the increase in this consumption, horses are registered as livestock by the Food and Agricultural Organization. In this study, horse meat microbiota of horse samples ( = 56; 32 samples from Kazakhstan and 24 samples from Kyrgyzstan) from two countries, Kazakhstan ( = 3) and Kyrgyzstan ( = 1), were investigated for the first time by next-generation sequencing and metabarcoding analysis. The results demonstrated that Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla in all samples. In addition, three (5.4%) strains were isolated from the Uzynagash region, Kazakhstan. strains were identified as , , and by partial 16S rRNA DNA gene Sanger sequencing. All three isolates were nonbiofilm formers; only the was detected as multidrug-resistant (resistant to penicillin, cefoxitin, and oxacillin). In addition, was found to carry A, C, and K genes. This is the first study to detect potentially pathogenic spp. in horse meat samples originating from Kazakhstan. In conclusion, it should be carefully considered that undercooked horse meat may pose a risk to consumers in terms of pathogens such as antibiotic-resistant isolates.