Nanopore Sequencing-Driven Mapping of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Selected Escherichia coli Isolates from Pigs and Poultry Layers in Nigeria

<b>Background:</b> Despite the huge burden of deaths associated with or attributable to antimicrobial resistance, studies on sequencing based antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitoring in Africa are scarce, specifically in the animal sector. Objective and Methods: With a view to deploy rapid AMR monitoring through leveraging advanced technologies, in the current study, nanopore sequencing was performed with 10 <i>E. coli</i> strains isolated from rectal swabs of pigs and poultry layers in Nigeria. Two sequence analysis methods including command line, where bacterial genomes were assembled, and subsequently antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) were detected through online databases, and EPI2ME, an integrated cloud-based data analysis platform with MinION, was used to detect ARGs. <b>Results:</b> A total of 95 ARGs were identified and most of the genes are known to be expressed in the chromosome. Interestingly, few genes including <i>qnrS1</i>, <i>qnrS15</i>, <i>qnrS10</i>, <i>kdpE</i>, <i>cmlA1</i>, <i>MIR-14</i>, <i>sul3</i> and <i>dfrA12</i> were identified which were previously reported as transferred through Mobile Genetic Elements (MGEs). The antibiotic susceptibility assay determined that the <i>E. coli</i> isolates were resistant to Penicillin (100%), Ciprofloxacin (70%), tetracycline (50%) and Ampicillin (40%). The accuracies of the command line and EPI2ME methods have been found to be 57.14% and 32.14%, respectively, in predicting AMR. Moreover, the analysis methods showed 62.5% agreement in predicting AMR for the <i>E. coli</i> isolates. Conclusions: Considering the multiple advantages of nanopore sequencing, the application of this rapid and field-feasible sequencing technique holds promise for rapid AMR monitoring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Nigeria. However, the development of a robust sequence analysis pipeline and the optimization of the existing analysis tools are crucial to streamline the deployment of nanopore sequencing in LMICs for AMR monitoring both in animal and human sectors.